Making Memories of Us
by xxLittle Black Dressxx
Summary: Set after the Season 5 finale. Follows Addison, Jake, Charlotte, Cooper, Amelia, and Sheldon as they navigate their way through love, parenting, and loss. Main couples: Jaddison, CharCoop, Amelia/Sheldon.
1. Chapter 1

This story picks up after Private Practice's Season 5 finale. This is a very different type of story for me; usually, I just focus on one couple, but I thought it might be fun to weave three different couples into the same story and give them equal attention. I hope you like this story, and I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks for reading!

* * *

_**Making Memories of Us**_

_And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you;  
__And I'll earn your trust making memories of us._

"You really didn't have to do this," Amelia said, taking a sip of her cappuccino. "You know, take me out for coffee."

Jake smiled. "We've already been over this, Amelia; I'm here for you today. I mean, I'm here for you whenever you need me…but especially today."

Amelia sighed. "You know, I always thought that Father's Day was the cruelest day of the year, but it's not. Mother's Day is…no question." Amelia looked up from her coffee and met Jake's eyes. "My father died when I was five…so I've always hated Father's Day. But, today, Mother's Day…this is unbearable."

Jake nodded in understanding. "I hate Mother's Day too."

"Do you have a bad relationship with you mom?" Amelia asked, grateful to redirect the conversation away from her and the pain that she was feeling.

Jake shook his head. "My mom and I had a great relationship. She died when I was eighteen. But Mother's Day always makes me think about Lily."

"Your ex-wife?"

"Yeah," Jake nodded. "She wasn't always the best mother to Angela, but still…Mother's Day makes me think about her. So," Jake smiled, desperate to change the topic, "what do you want to do after this?"

"Honestly?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah."

Amelia gave Jake a pointed look. "I want you to go see Addison."

Jake shook his head. "That's probably not the best idea."

"Why?"

Jake sighed. "This is her first Mother's Day. It should be about her and Henry. Plus, we're not exactly on the best of terms right now."

"You do realize that Addison said no to Sam when he asked her to marry him, right?"

"I know," Jake muttered. "It's just…I thought things were over between them."

"Things _are_ over between them," Amelia insisted. "Look, I love Addison, but things between her and Sam were over long before you even stepped into the picture."

"I don't know," Jake disagreed.

"Trust me. I lived with her. She and Sam may have been together when you first started working at the practice, but it wasn't a good relationship. It wasn't a good relationship for the majority of the time that they were dating. Like I said, I love Addie, but sometimes she doesn't know when to let go of something. And, sometimes, it's a good thing. She wanted a baby, and she moved mountains to get a baby…and she got one. But, sometimes, it's a bad thing…you know, she ends up fighting to save a patient who never had a chance in the first place, or she ends up staying in a relationship that should have ended a long time ago."

Jake sighed. "I-"

"Look, I know you don't believe me," Amelia interrupted. "But at least consider dropping by and seeing her today. You don't have to stay long. Just do it as a favor to me."

Jake smiled and shook his head in amusement. "I'll stop by under one condition."

"Okay," Amelia said hesitantly.

"You need to call Sheldon."

"But I-"

"Amelia, you're phone has been vibrating non-stop since I picked you up. Now, I haven't asked because I don't want to pry, but I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of those phone calls that you've been ignoring today are from Sheldon."

Amelia sighed. "I just, he's gonna want to do something…you know, to make me feel better. And I don't know if I'm up for doing anything more than coffee for a while. I'm not ready to feel better."

Jake smiled. "That's why I told you to call him. I never said anything about doing anything or feeling better. Please just call him."

"Only if you go and see Addie."

"Okay," Jake grinned. "It's a deal."

xxxxx

"Morning, Coop," Charlotte smiled, as Cooper entered the kitchen, still in his pajamas, his hair slightly tousled.

"Hey, good morning," Cooper grinned, giving Charlotte a quick kiss on the lips before pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Is Mason still asleep?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah," Cooper sighed, as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Hey, you okay?" Charlotte asked in concern.

"I, it's just, today's Mason's first Mother's Day without his mom, and I…I don't know what to do for him."

Charlotte nodded in understanding. "You know, I was worried about that too," she confessed.

"You don't look particularly worried," Cooper commented.

"Well, I spoke to Jake about it, yesterday. I figured that since he's been through something similar, he might be able to offer us some advice."

"What'd he say?" Cooper asked.

Charlotte sighed. "That today is gonna hurt like hell…no matter how you slice it."

Cooper nodded. "I figured as much. So, what are we supposed to do?"

"Jake said to follow Mason's lead. That's what he did with Angela. He let her choose how they spent Mother's Day and how they remembered her mom. Some years, they looked at old pictures of her together. Other years, they'd go to the cemetery. Now-a-days, the two of them just go for a meal together and talk about her."

"So, just follow Mason's lead?" Cooper asked hesitantly.

"Yeah."

"You're an amazing mom, you know that?"

Charlotte smiled at him appreciatively.

"No, I mean it. Mason's lucky to have you. I'm lucky to have you. I uh, I hope it's okay, but I wanted to you get something."

"Coop, why?"

"Because it's Mother's Day, and you're an incredible mother. Here," he said, handing her a small box, wrapped in shiny, silver paper. "Happy Mother's Day, Charlotte."

"Cooper," Charlotte gasped as she unwrapped a pair of elegant, white gold knot earrings. "You really didn't need to do this." She met his eyes and gave him a soft smile. "But thank you."

Cooper smiled, before kissing her deeply. "No. Thank you."

xxxxx

"Okay, what's your secret?" Sheldon asked.

Jake looked at him in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"I said what's your secret?" Sheldon repeated. "Amelia…she won't talk to me…not the way she talks to you, at least."

"Well, you did kind of abandon her when she needed you most," Jake pointed out.

"Oh, will you just let that go already?" Sheldon sighed in frustration. "Okay, yes, I wish I would have been there for her, but it's not like I abandoned her on purpose. What I did was not completely unforgivable."

"I think it's pretty unforgivable," Jake shot back. "I mean, how do just let someone that you supposedly care about go through such a devastating and emotional process alone?"

"I didn't know what was going on," Sheldon defended.

"And then, once everything works out, you have the nerve to propose…you know, even though you were completely unsupportive…even _actively unhelpful_… when things were rough and when she _really_ needed you," Jake muttered to himself. "Because, apparently, that's what we're all looking for in life, right? A selfish spouse, who'll be there for you when it suits _his_ needs and when times are good, but who completely shuts down when things get tough, when things get real…you know, when life happens."

"What?" Sheldon asked in confusion. "I didn't…who are we talking about?"

Jake looked at Sheldon in surprise. "What?"

"We're not talking about me and Amelia, are we? You're projecting your problems with Addison onto me and Amelia, aren't you?"

"Don't shrink me, Sheldon."

"I'm a shrink; it's what I do," Sheldon smirked. "Plus, you people are all completely incapable of talking about anyone besides yourselves, so I end up doing a lot of off-call shrinking."

"I'm sorry," Jake apologized. "You came to me to talk about you and Amelia. Let's talk about you and Amelia."

Sheldon sighed. "I just, I hate that there's nothing that I can do to make her feel better. I mean, I understand that this is the type of thing that she'll never fully heal from, but I, she's my best friend, and I hate to see her hurting…and to know that there's nothing I can do to make her stop hurting."

Jake nodded sadly. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Hey, have you called her today?"

"Only a couple hundred times," Sheldon admitted. "Pathetic, huh? She's been ignoring my calls, so I, I stopped calling."

"You should call her again," Jake urged.

Sheldon looked at him skeptically. "I don't know. She clearly doesn't want to talk to me, right now."

"She might," Jake insisted. "You should call."

"I'll think about it," Sheldon sighed.

"Or you could just do it," Jake countered. "Anyway, I'm meeting Angela for dinner in little while, and I have a stop to make first, so I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye, Jake," Sheldon smiled.

"Bye, Sheldon," Jake said, as he began to walk away.

"Hey, Jake," Sheldon called out.

Jake turned to look at his colleague. "Yes."

"You realize that Addison said no, right?"

Jake smiled. "You sound like Amelia, you know that?" he chuckled. And, with that, he turned and walked away.

xxxxx

"Jake, what are you doing here?" Addison asked in surprise, as she opened the door to her beach house to find Jake standing outside with flowers and a gift bag.

"I, uh, I can't stay for long," Jake began, "but I just wanted to stop by and wish you a Happy Mother's Day."

"Is this all for me?" Addison asked, gesturing to the things in Jake's hands.

"The flowers are for you," Jake chuckled. "The gift is for Henry. I didn't want him to feel left out or anything."

Addison smiled. "Would you mind holding Henry, while I open the gift?" she asked.

"Addison, you don't have to open it here in front me," Jake started.

"No, I want to. I want to," Addison insisted, as she placed Henry in Jake's arms, and took the flowers and gift from him. "Oh my goodness," she breathed. "Baby scrubs. These are adorable."

Jake smiled. "I kind of figured that he's destined to become a great surgeon….you know, with him being your son and all, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to give him a push in the right direction."

"Jake, you didn't need to do this."

Jake shrugged. "I wanted to. You fought so hard to be a mother…I just, I wanted to do something for you today…small as this is."

Addison couldn't help smiling at his words. "Do you want to stay for a while, you know, have a drink or something?" she asked hopefully.

Jake shook his head. "I can't. Angela and I have dinner plans, and I don't want to keep her waiting."

Addison swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat; Jake's relationship with Angela never failed to strike a chord with her. "Right," she choked out. "Maybe some other time."

Jake smiled at Henry, who seemed content in his arms. "Maybe," he shrugged. "Anyway, I should probably go. I'll see you later, Addison. See you later, Henry," he grinned, as he gently rubbed the little boy's back, before handing him back to Addison.

"Hey, Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"I wasn't the one who proposed."

Jake sighed. "I know. It just, it hurts, you know…to sleep with someone and then find out that another man proposed to her only an hour later."

"But I said no."

"I know. I just, I need some time."

Addison swallowed hard. "Okay, yeah. I, uh, I get that."

Jake nodded. "I'll see you later," he said, making his way out the door.

"Hey, Jake?" Addison called out before he could get very far.

Jake turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

Addison met his eyes and smiled. "Thank you for the flowers…and for Henry's scrubs…and for stopping by…and for everything you did for me this past year."

Jake grinned widely. "Happy Mother's Day, Addison. You deserve it."

xxxxx

"Hey, are you okay?" Cooper asked Charlotte, as she emerged from their master bathroom, later that night.

"Yeah," Charlotte nodded. "I don't know, I guess being at the cemetery, today, must have gotten to me or somethin'. I've been feeling a little off all day."

"You do look a little pale," Cooper commented. "Can I do anything for you?"

"Thanks, but I'm fine," Charlotte smiled. "I think I'm probably just tired," she said, climbing into bed beside her husband.

"Okay," Cooper nodded. "But if you need anything-"

"Thanks, Coop," Charlotte smiled as she turned off the light, and laid her head on Cooper's chest. "Night, Cooper," Charlotte said, kissing her husband softly on the lips.

"Good night, Charlotte," Cooper smiled, "and Happy Mother's Day," he whispered, before wrapping his arms around her and closing his eyes.

Charlotte tried to fall asleep, but she was feeling truly awful. She looked over at Cooper, who was sleeping peacefully next to her, and contemplated waking him, but quickly thought better of it; there was no need for them both to be awake and miserable. Feeling a wave of nausea wash over her, she darted out of bed and rushed into the bathroom, vomiting violently into the toilet for what felt like the hundredth time that evening.

When she finally regained composure, she stood up, and began searching through the medicine cabinet in her bathroom for something to take the edge off her nausea. She felt her breath catch in her throat when her hand landed on the box of pregnancy tests that she had bought a couple years ago, when she and Cooper had that pregnancy scare. She removed a pregnancy test from the box, and turned it over in her hands a couple of times, figuring there was no harm in ruling out pregnancy as the culprit for why she was feeling so terrible.

After waiting a very long two minutes, she got up the nerve to look at the little white stick on the bathroom counter, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the little plus sign glaring back at her. Her initial feelings were ones of happiness; Cooper would be so excited. But then she thought about Mason and Amelia, and how this wasn't exactly the best time for a new baby – and the fear started to set in. Sighing heavily, she tossed the pregnancy test in the trash. "Happy Mother's Day," she muttered to herself. "Happy Mother's Day to me."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you so much for the kind feedback on the last chapter! Like I mentioned in my first author's note, writing a story that focuses on three main couples, instead of just one, is something new for me, so I really appreciate hearing what you think. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks so much for reading!

* * *

"I need your advice," Sheldon said, pushing the stop button on the elevator.

"Well, isn't this a nice role reversal," Addison smirked.

"Addison, I'm serious," Sheldon insisted. "I've offered you a lot of advice in this elevator over the years; it's only fair that you return the favor."

"Okay," Addison nodded. "What can I do for you, Sheldon?"

"Amelia's moving into her own place tonight, and I…do you think it would be out of line if I went and helped out?"

"Sheldon," Addison laughed, "we're expecting you to help out."

"You are?"

"Of course we are. You're Amelia's best friend. She wants you there. Plus, we have to move her out of Sam's house, and we all pretty much agreed that it would be less awkward for everyone if Jake and I weren't around for that part, so that would just leave Charlotte and Cooper helping Amelia move all of her things out, which-"

"Which sounds like a disaster waiting to happen," Sheldon filled in with a smirk.

"Exactly," Addison agreed. "So you'll be there?"

"I'll be there," Sheldon nodded. "Hey, what about Violet and Pete? Are they helping?"

Addison shook her head. "While you're all moving Amelia out of Sam's place, Jake and I are going to drop Henry and Mason off with Violet and Pete. We're trying to make tonight as happy as we can for Amelia, and bringing Henry and Mason…well, how could that not make Amelia think about everything she's lost? So we thought it would be best to just have adults tonight.

Sheldon nodded in agreement. "Jakes idea?" he asked.

"Charlotte's actually," Addison smiled.

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll see you tonight, then."

"Yeah," Addison smirked. "If you ever let us out of this elevator."

"Very funny," Sheldon chuckled, releasing the stop button. "Very funny."

xxxxx

"We brought pizza," Addison called out, as she and Jake let themselves into Amelia's new house.

"Great! We're starving," Cooper grinned, as he, Charlotte, Amelia, and Sheldon joined Addison and Jake in Amelia's new living room.

"I haven't picked out any furniture yet," Amelia apologized. "I hope you guys don't mind eating on the floor."

"I'm fine with it," Sheldon said, and the others chorused their agreement.

"Hey, Amelia, if you want company when you go furniture shopping, I'd be happy to come," Addison offered, opening one of the boxes of pizza. "I love that kind of stuff."

"I'll keep that in mind," Amelia nodded. "As long as you don't turn it into prom dress shopping, the sequel."

"Oh, come on, that was fun," Addison insisted.

"Was it, Addie?" Amelia teased, putting a slice of pizza on her plate. She turned towards the rest of her guests. "Addison was dating my brother back when I was a senior in high school, and she took me prom dress shopping. But it was a fiasco. Addison made me try on like a hundred dresses, and she loved every single one on me. And then, of course, let's not forget her ridiculously expensive taste."

Addison chuckled. "In my defense, it was probably only about forty dresses, and you _did_ look beautiful in every single dress you tried on. But I'll be better with furniture shopping," Addison promised. "And you're a doctor now, so you can afford to have expensive taste…but we won't go overboard, I swear."

"I'll think about it," Amelia conceded. "I still haven't gotten over prom dress shopping."

Addison smiled warmly at the woman, who she still considered a sister. "So," she began, changing the topic, "how'd the move go?"

Cooper looked at his colleague and smirked. "Let's just say that, if you ever decide to move, I'm going to make sure to be out of town that week. Moving is hard work, and I can't imagine packing and unpacking somebody who has as much stuff as you do, Addison."

"Good to know," Addison smiled. She turned to Jake. "I thought the theme of the night was to help Amelia move and welcome her into her new house, not to tease me mercilessly," she muttered.

"It wasn't that bad," Sheldon insisted, before Jake had time to respond.

"It really wasn't," Cooper agreed. "But it did make me realize that I don't want to move any time soon."

Charlotte swallowed hard at this. Their loft definitely wasn't big enough for her, Cooper, Mason, and a new baby.

"You okay, Charlotte?" Amelia asked her friend. "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine," Charlotte said quickly.

Amelia nodded. "So, does anyone want a tour of this place?" she asked.

"Pizza first," Cooper insisted, pointing to the slice of pizza still on his place.

"I'll stay with Cooper," Charlotte said.

"I'm up for a tour," Sheldon smiled.

Amelia looked at Addison and Jake. "You two have already seen the place," she said. "So I guess you don't need another tour."

Addison looked at Jake. "When did you see the house?" she asked.

Jake gave her a teasing smile. "Amelia asked me for a second opinion on the place. She said you liked it, but word on the street is that you like everything and have expensive taste.

Addison did her best to give Jake a disapproving headshake, but the slight smile playing on her face undercut her best efforts.

"So, I guess it's just you and me, Sheldon," Amelia said.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Sheldon smiled, as Amelia began showing him around her new house.

And after showing Sheldon her bedroom, office, bathrooms, guest bedroom, and kitchen, Amelia stopped in front of another room.

"This," she said, pushing open the door, "would have been my son's room."

Sheldon swallowed hard, as he took in the empty room.

"I would have painted the walls pale blue," Amelia said quietly. "No designs or themes…just pale blue walls. And his crib," Amelia continued, walking towards the left corner of the room, "would have gone right here. Probably a dark, mahogany crib, but I don't know, maybe a white crib. I probably would have asked Addie for advice because, as much as I tease her, she really does have good taste. And his changing table would have gone here," she said, gesturing towards the wall. And his rocking chair…would have gone in that corner. And then, on the wall right over his crib, I would have painted his initials…_R.C.S._"

"R.C.S.?" Sheldon asked.

"Ryan Christopher Shepherd," Amelia said simply. "Ryan, after his father. And Christopher, after my father."

Sheldon nodded sadly. "That sounds…nice."

Amelia nodded. "And he would have learned how to throw and catch a baseball out in the backyard. And he would have been a Yankees fan too, because everyone in my family is. And when he turned sixteen, I would have given him my father's watch. But…" Amelia trailed off sadly, wiping a tear from her cheek, "I guess I'll just turn this room into another guest room…because you can't have too many of those, right?"

"Amelia," Sheldon whispered, wrapping his arms around her, doing his best to comfort her, even though he was pretty sure that there was nothing that he could do or say that would make her feel better. "Can I, can I do anything for you?" he asked, desperate to try to make things better for her.

"You can," Amelia said, stepping out of Sheldon's embrace.

Sheldon looked at her expectantly. "Whatever it is, Amelia…" he trailed off.

"Don't tell anyone that I'm still hurting so bad. They, they think I'm doing better, and I don't want them to know how badly I'm still hurting."

"It's okay to hurt, Amelia. It's okay if this hurts you for the rest of your life."

"Don't shrink me, Sheldon."

"Okay," Sheldon nodded.

"So you won't say anything to anyone?" Amelia asked.

"I won't…under one condition."

"Okay…" Amelia trailed off hesitantly.

"Let me stay here tonight."

"Sheldon, I only have one bed, and I-"

"You take the bed," Sheldon cut in. "I'll sleep on the floor. I won't even sleep in the same room as you. Just…let me stay with you."

"Sheldon, the floor's really uncomfortable," Amelia reasoned. "You're not gonna get a good night's sleep."

"Trust me, Amelia; I'll sleep a lot better on the floor here than I will in my bed at home."

Amelia looked at him skeptically, but he seemed serious. "Okay," she agreed. "You can spend the night."

xxxxx

"You know, I went prom dress shopping once," Jake said, taking a sip of his wine. After they finished helping Amelia begin to unpack her things, both he and Addison agreed that they could use a drink. So Addison invited him back to her place and, unlike the last time, he eagerly accepted her offer.

"Really?" Addison asked.

"Yeah," Jake nodded, "with Angela."

"And…" Addison pressed.

"I think Angela would have killed to have someone like you shopping with her, and throwing hundreds of dresses at her."

"Shopping not your thing?" Addison asked.

Jake shrugged. "Dress shopping isn't exactly my strong point. I mean, I tried. I really did. I even went so far as to read the prom edition of 'Teen Vogue' to prepare myself. But she wanted her mom there, and I couldn't blame her."

Addison rubbed his bicep sympathetically. "Did her biological father try to reach out to you guys…did he offer to go with you or something like that?"

Jake shook his head. "There's nothing real about that guy."

"You know," Addison said, a slight smile coming to her face, "I bet you didn't do as bad as you think you did. And I bet Angela appreciated it."

"Thanks," Jake smiled. "Hey, Addison," he said, meeting her eyes, "what are you doing next weekend?"

Addison ran a hand through her hair. "Nothing. At least I don't think I have plans. Why?"

"Do you want to have dinner at my place?"

Addison smiled. "I'd like that. I need to get a baby-sitter for Henry, but-"

"Bring him," Jake insisted.

"Jake."

"No, seriously, bring him."

Addison looked at Jake skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," he nodded. "I get that you're a mother, Addison. And I like that about you. And I know that if I want to be with you, I need to be okay with the fact that you have another man in your life. And as long as that man's Henry, I'm okay with it. I'm actually more than okay with it."

"Did you just say you want to be with me?" Addison asked Jake coyly.

Jake chuckled, and as a slow smile spread across his face. "Yeah, I guess I did."

xxxxx

"Did you really mean what you said, tonight, about not wanting to move any time soon?" Charlotte asked Cooper, as they got ready for bed.

"Definitely," Cooper nodded. "Moving's a real pain in the ass…as you saw tonight. And besides, Mason's comfortable here. And after everything he's been through, I think it's a good idea to try to keep as many things as we can stable for him."

Charlotte nodded. "But you'll want to move some day, right? I mean, if we have more kids, this loft won't be big enough for all of us."

"That's a long way down the road, Charlotte. I can't even imagine having more kids, right now. We're still getting used to being parents to Mason." He looked at his wife carefully. "Do you want to move?"

"I," Charlotte hesitated. She was tempted to tell Cooper about the baby, but after his little speech, she was having second thoughts. "I love the loft," she said finally. It wasn't exactly a lie, but she also didn't exactly answer her husband's question.

"Me too," Cooper smiled, as he climbed into bed. "And I love you."

"I love you too, Coop," Charlotte said, turning off the light, and kissing her husband softly.

"Night, Charlotte."

"Night, Coop."

And as her husband drifted off to sleep, Charlotte couldn't help mentally scolding herself for not telling Cooper about the baby. She wasn't one to avoid or tiptoe around important conversations but, for some reason, she was nervous to sit Cooper down and break the news to him. She knew that a new baby would change their lives drastically…and maybe they weren't ready for it. Maybe becoming a mother to Mason had softened her more than she liked to admit because, normally, she would have no problem having this conversation with Cooper. She contemplated nudging her husband awake and just ripping the Band-Aid off, then and there, but quickly thought better of it. Tonight wasn't the right time for it. But as she began to drift off to sleep, she couldn't help worrying that there might never be a right time to have this conversation with Cooper.

xxxxx

Sheldon tossed and turned on the hardwood floor. Amelia hadn't been wrong; it was uncomfortable. So, in the name of being a good friend (or so he convinced himself), he went to check on her. But she wasn't in her bedroom. He quietly padded around the house looking for her, and felt his heart sink in his chest when he finally found her – asleep on the floor in the middle of what would have been her son's room.

He stood in the doorway, watching her for a moment. And when he saw her shoulders trembling, he realized that she wasn't asleep; and that she was crying.

He quietly made his way towards her, and she turned to face him at the sound of his footsteps coming closer.

"Sheldon," she breathed, doing her best to wipe away the tears from her cheeks. "I was, I was just…"

"It's okay," Sheldon cut in softly. "You don't need to explain."

Amelia nodded mutely. And Sheldon hesitantly laid down next to her, being careful not to touch her or do anything to make her uncomfortable. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure if she'd be comfortable with him laying down next to her, so he waited for her to react or respond. She didn't seem to mind him being there – she didn't push him away. But she didn't pull him in closer either. So, he did the only thing he could think of – he did his best to make himself comfortable on the hardwood floor, and prepared himself for what was sure to be a long, restless night for both of them.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you so much for your feedback on this story so far! I love hearing what you think! This chapter is a little heavy on Addison scenes, but I guess that was bound to happen eventually – she's my favorite. I hope you like this chapter, and I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks for reading!

* * *

"Hey, have you got a minute?" Charlotte asked, as she knocked on the door to Addison's office.

Addison looked up from her paperwork in surprise. "Sure," she answered. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Charlotte smiled, closing Addison's office door behind her.

Addison raised an eyebrow at this. "Is everything alright, Charlotte?"

"Everything's fine," Charlotte nodded. "I just, I need to ask you something."

"Okay…" Addison trailed off hesitantly, unsure of what to expect.

"Listen, I know how gossip works around this place, so I need you to promise me that what I'm about to tell you stays between us."

"Okay," Addison agreed quickly.

"Good." Charlotte nodded. "I'm pregnant, and-"

"Charlotte! Congratulations! That's great news!" Addison exclaimed. But she quickly tamped down her enthusiasm when she noticed that her colleague did not seem excited. "You don't want a baby?" Addison asked delicately.

"No, I do," Charlotte said slowly. "It's just…the timing is terrible…with everything that's happened lately, and all."

Addison nodded in understanding. "What did Cooper say when you told him?"

"I haven't told him yet," Charlotte admitted. "The timing hasn't been right for that either."

Addison looked at Charlotte in confusion.

"I was gonna tell him last night, but he pretty much said he doesn't want another kid, right now."

"He said that?" Addison asked. "That doesn't sound like Cooper."

"He didn't _exactly_ say that," Charlotte backpedaled. "It was more of an indirect, offhand statement, but..."

"Charlotte, you need to tell him," Addison advised.

"I know, and I will," Charlotte insisted. "It's just, I don't know, I watched what you and Sam went through with him not wantin' a baby, and I just…that's the type of stuff that tears people-"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there," Addison interrupted. "You and Cooper are _nothing_ like me and Sam. Cooper loves you, Charlotte. You two would do anything for each other. I mean, you didn't have to become a mother to Mason, but you did. And, yes, you did it because you love Mason, but you also did it because you love Cooper. You and Cooper are willing to sacrifice for each other…to put each other's happiness above your own. Sam and I were never willing to do that for each other."

"I guess," Charlotte sighed.

"Trust me, Charlotte," Addison insisted. "Cooper is nothing like Sam…and I mean that in the very best way possible. And, sure, Cooper may have told you that he wasn't ready for another child when the two of you were discussing it hypothetically but, Charlotte, when he finds out about this, he's going to be so excited…and so supportive."

Charlotte nodded, recognizing the truth in Addison's words, and hearing the pain in Addison's voice, towards the end of her little speech. Charlotte knew that Addison had thought that Sam would be the man that she'd settle down and had a baby with, and she knew how hurt and disappointed Addison was when her relationship with Sam turned out to be a letdown. And Charlotte felt very thankful that Cooper was nothing like Sam in that respect – that he would never in a million years lead her on or hurt her the way Sam had with Addison.

Charlotte swallowed hard, mentally scolding herself for ever doubting Cooper and the strength of their relationship. "The timing still sucks," she muttered.

"Well, the timing's never right," Addison admitted; and Charlotte watched as a look of sadness graced the redhead's features.

"You okay?" Charlotte asked hesitantly.

Addison nodded, even though she wasn't entirely okay; this conversation couldn't help but remind her of a similar conversation that she had had with Sam.

"_Sam, I have already waited too long. You know, first it was wait until you meet the right guy. And then I met Derek, and I told myself, 'Addison, be smart. Wait until you finish med school. And then wait until you finish your residency. And then wait until you finish your fellowship. And my marriage exploded! And then I had an affair. And I still thought that I had more time, and I had an abortion. And I waited and waited and waited until I only had one egg left. It's not that I didn't want kids; it's that I took having kids for granted. Because a thirteen-year-old girl can do it. Because a seventy-five-year old man can do it. But you know you can't do it? An over-educated, talented, strong, powerful woman in her forties. How ridiculous is that? How mad am I at my body! I waited too long…I'm sorry, I know that was a lot. You understand? Do you get it?"_

"_Yeah. Are we breaking up?" _

Charlotte didn't know if motherhood really had softened her or if it was the heartbreaking look on Addison's face but, in that moment, she knew there was only one thing she could do – she crossed the desk and pulled Addison into a hug. "You're an amazing mother, Addison," she whispered.

"Thank you," Addison said, giving Charlotte a weak smile. Sure, she appreciated Charlotte's compliment but, even more, she appreciated the way that Charlotte had unknowingly brought a sense of closure to what had been a devastating conversation between her and Sam. In Sam's defense, there wasn't much he could have said to make things better; but Charlotte's hug provided a her with a sense of comfort and support that Sam's 'Are we breaking up' hadn't.

Addison met Charlotte's eyes and sighed. "I get that the timing might feel all wrong…and it might very well be all wrong, but you shouldn't take having kids for granted. And I'm not saying you're gonna end up all dried up and barren, like I am, but I just…I'd talk to Cooper about it. And once you do that, the two of you can figure out the rest. But this is a good thing, Charlotte. You and Cooper deserve a little happiness."

"Yeah," Charlotte nodded. "You're right. I was just…overwhelmed, I guess. But you're right. Thank you, Addison."

"You're welcome," Addison smiled.

"And, Addison," Charlotte began hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"This won't leave this office, right?"

Addison smiled. "I won't tell anyone. I promise."

xxxxx

"So what do think of this shirt?" Addison asked, as she slipped on an understated, black Versace top. She looked over at Henry, who was lying contently on his stomach in the center of her bed, and chuckled. "You haven't had an opinion about any of the shirts I've tried on," she laughed, walking over to the bed, and kissing Henry gently on the forehead.

She knew she was being ridiculous. It was just a casual dinner at Jake's house. It surely didn't warrant four different outfit changes. She tried to rationalize her behavior by telling herself that she wasn't used to doing casual. She almost always wore a dress or a skirt and heels. Dressing up was easy for her. Casual required more work; and that's why she was struggling to decide on an outfit for dinner. That's what she told herself, at least.

"Okay, one more outfit," she bargained with Henry, who just continued to stare at her. "Oh, don't look at me like that," she laughed, as she slipped on a red Gucci top. "What do you think of this one?" she asked her son. She studied her reflection in the mirror and frowned. "You're right," she told Henry. "The black Versace top is classier. I'll go with that," she said, putting the black shirt back on.

After putting the top on, she scooped Henry up off the bed and cuddled him close. "Now, I need you to promise me, you're going to be good for Charlotte and Cooper tonight," she cooed to her son, who just stared back at her. "Oh, don't look at me like that," she chuckled. "I know that Jake invited you to his place tonight, but I think it's best for you to spend the evening with Charlotte and Cooper, and then I'll come pick up, and we'll go home. Besides, Charlotte and Cooper need the practice."

xxxxx

"Tell me something that nobody knows about you," Jake said, taking a sip of his wine.

Addison lightly swirled the wine around in her glass and met Jake's eyes. "I hate the Yankees," she said simply.

"And I hate strawberry ice cream," Jake chuckled. "Tell me something important," he said, growing serious.

"That is important," Addison insisted. "Derek and Mark and the entire Shepherd family…they love the Yankees. You wouldn't believe how many Yankees games I've been to over the years. And I hate the team."

"Have you always hated them?" Jake asked. "Or did it happen after you got divorced?"

"I've always hated them," Addison admitted. "I mean, there were a couple of times…well, maybe just this one time, when I thought that I might be able to like them," she went on, thinking about Mark and the onesie that he had bought so long ago. "But I never really liked the team…or the sport, for that matter."

"Well, you don't exactly strike me as a sports fan," Jake chuckled, "but if I had to picture you liking a baseball team, I would have pegged you as a Yankees fan without a second thought. They're the best team in baseball by far."

"That's exactly why I hate them," Addison nodded. "They always win. They're predictable. And I've always had a thing for the underdog."

"Is that why you went into neonatal?" Jake asked. "Babies are kind of like the ultimate underdog, if you think about it."

Addison laughed. "You know, there might be something to that," she admitted. She shot him a teasing smile; "So, what do you have against strawberry ice cream?" she asked. "Are you allergic to it?"

Jake shook his head. "No. It's just, it confuses me. I mean, is it a dessert that's trying to be healthy? Is it fruit that's trying to pass itself off as a dessert? It just doesn't make sense. And if I'm going to have dessert, I'm not going to have some type of half fruit, half dessert combo. I'm going all in."

"You realize that makes no sense?" Addison laughed.

"I think it makes sense," Jake disagreed. "But I do realize that I'm in the minority here. Angela loves strawberry ice cream. It's her favorite."

Addison smiled. "Tell me something that nobody else knows about you," she said, raising an eyebrow coyly.

"Okay," Jake nodded, suddenly growing serious. "I've, uh, I've always kind of blamed myself for Lily's death."

"Jake, you know that's not-"

"Rationally, I know. I know it's not my fault. But, still, I can't help thinking that maybe if I would have pushed her a little harder to get help, or just flat out dragged her to a professional…I don't know," he trailed off. "I just, I wish she would have let me in. I wish I could have been there for her."

Addison blinked back the tears that were stinging her eyes. "But you were there for Amelia," she said softly, moving next to him on the couch, and taking his hand in hers. "She let you in when she cut everyone else out.

"Yeah," Jake nodded, a weak smile coming to his face.

"You know," Addison began, "you are harder on yourself than anyone I've ever met."

"Addison."

"I'm serious," Addison insisted. "I mean, remember Nina's surgery? The uterus transplant may not have been successful, but you saved her life. You were amazing, and you were disappointed. And you blamed yourself for what happened with Elyse, even though that wasn't your fault either." She paused for a moment, waiting for him to look up and meet her eyes. "And then when you are in a position to judge…like with me and my relationship with Sam that had a honeymoon period of _maybe _a day…or me trying to get pregnant behind my ex-boyfriend's back…you're supportive. You don't judge." She gave him a soft smile, before leaning in and kissing him softly, gently caressing his cheek with her hand.

He kissed back, but pulled away after a moment. "Wh-what are you doing?" he asked, his eyes clouded with desire.

"I'm being supportive of you," she whispered, drawing him back in and molding her lips against his, groaning in disappointment when she felt him pull away again.

"Addison, I don't want you to do this out of pity, or because you feel bad for me."

Addison looked at him pointedly. "Does it look like I'm doing this out of pity?"

Jake smiled before crashing his lips up against hers and, this time, nobody was planning on pulling away any time soon.

xxxxx

"Hey, Coop, can we talk for a second?" Charlotte asked, as she and her husband were settling down for bed.

"Sure. What's up?" Cooper asked.

Charlotte sat down on their bed and motioned for her husband to join her.

"Uh, is everything okay, Charlotte?" Cooper asked in concern. "You're kind of scaring me."

"Everything's fine," Charlotte reassured him. "It's just, I'm pregnant."

"What?" Cooper asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"I'm pregnant," Charlotte repeated.

"Are you serious?"

Charlotte looked at him pointedly. "Why would I lie about something like this?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Cooper defended. "It's just…this is great news," he breathed, leaning in and kissing his wife deeply.

"You're excited?" Charlotte asked, once they broke apart. Even despite Addison's assurances, Charlotte still needed to hear it from Cooper's lips to feel completely reassured.

"Of course I'm excited," Cooper smiled. "Charlotte, I love you. You know how much I've wanted to start a family with you. How could you think that I wouldn't be excited?"

Charlotte was prepared to bring up the fact that a new baby would inevitably mean moving, changing a family dynamic that had already been drastically changed over the last couple of months, and potentially upsetting Amelia. But she pushed those thoughts aside, and remembered Addison's words from their earlier conversation – she and Cooper deserved a little happiness. So, she was determined to make this moment about them. And as she took in the wide smile on her husband's face, all of a sudden, these things that had once seemed like big deals now seemed more manageable.

"You know I love you, right Coop?" she smiled, as she kissed him softly.

"Yeah," Cooper murmured, once they broke apart. He looked at her and smiled; "I'm really excited," he admitted. "I mean, you know how much I love Mason, but I feel like I sort of missed out on the whole raising a baby thing…you know, first steps, first words…and now, now I get to do that…with you. You're excited, right?" he asked. Charlotte was undeniably amazing with Mason, but Cooper also remembered how resentful she had felt when motherhood had initially been thrust upon her, and he wanted to make sure that this wasn't the case again.

"I'm excited," Charlotte nodded. "I'm a little less excited about the part where you and I become boring parents because, let's face it, with two kids, we're not gonna have much of a social life."

"I can't wait to be boring parents," Cooper smiled. "And, come on, aside from our coworkers, we don't really have any friends anyway."

"Hmm," Charlotte smirked, raising an eyebrow seductively, "You may have a point but, still, I don't think I'm ready to be a boring parent just yet," she said, pulling Cooper in for a kiss. Cooper responded in kind, drawing his wife in even closer, and deepening the kiss. Charlotte was immediately lost in the kiss and, without breaking apart from her husband, she eased herself down on their bed, and pulled Cooper on top of her. She slipped his t-shirt over his head, and he did quickly did the same with her silky negligee, breaking apart from her, and allowing his eyes to roam over her body with a new sense of appreciation for it. But this didn't last very long, because Charlotte quickly pulled him back on top of her, and continued kissing him heatedly.

Charlotte had been told many times in her life that sex doesn't solve things. And she knew that there was truth behind that. But, she had to admit, sex with Cooper certainly made things better.

xxxxx

Sheldon was just about to head off to bed, when he heard a knock at the door. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was too late for casual visitors, and his mind immediately went to worst-case scenarios – he worried that one of his friends or coworkers or patients was in serious trouble. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, and shakily made his way to the door, and opened it to find Amelia standing outside.

"A-Amelia," he said worriedly. "Is everything okay?"

"If by okay, you mean that I'm not strung out…then, yes, I'm okay." She shook her head and sighed. "It was mistake for me to come here. Sorry for bothering you so late at night."

She turned to leave, but Sheldon placed a gentle hand on her arm before she could. "You're not bothering me," he said softly.

"I don't know why I'm here," Amelia admitted.

"Do you want to talk?" Sheldon asked.

Amelia shook her head. "No. I want to sleep. I…" she trailed off.

"Amelia, would you like spend the night?"

A small smile graced Amelia's features. "I'd like that."

"Yeah," Sheldon nodded. "I'd like that too."

xxxxx

"Okay, Henry," Addison cooed, looking down at her son in her arms, the next morning, as she stepped off the elevator and into the practice. "We've got some work to do."

She moved towards Jake's office, and tried to open the door, frowning when she realized that it was locked. "That's the beauty of owning the practice," Addison told her son, as she reached into her purse and retrieved a set of keys, "I can get into anyone's office."

She let herself into Jake's office, put a blanket down on his leather couch, and placed Henry down on the blanket. "Jake's a good guy, and he'd probably understand, but I think we should avoid getting drool on his couch, if possible," she told Henry, as she removed a bottle of champagne, two champagne flutes, and a box of chocolate cake from her bag, and placed it on Jake's desk.

"Perfect," she approved, walking back over to the couch, and picking Henry up. "Now we wait," she told her son, as she sat down in Jake's swivel desk chair, and put Henry up on the desk.

They weren't waiting long; a few minutes later, Jake got off the elevator, and began making his way to his office, smiling when he saw Addison sitting at his desk with Henry. "I like your scrubs, Henry," Jake complimented, tickling the baby under his chin. He turned to Addison. "What's this all about?" he asked, gesturing towards the champagne and the cake box on his desk.

Addison smiled, and opened the cake box to reveal a chocolate cake with the words, _Happy 1 Year_, written in white frosting. "You joined the practice exactly one year ago, today," Addison explained. "So, Henry and I wanted to do a little something for you."

A wide smile spread across Jake's face. "Addison, you didn't have to do this. Thank you."

"Please," Addison laughed, dismissing his thanks, "after everything you've done for me this past year, this is the least I can do. And Henry felt bad about missing dinner at your place the other night, so he wanted to do something for you too."

"Well, I appreciate it," Jake grinned, leaning in, and kissing Addison softly. "It's been one hell of a year."

"It has," Addison agreed.

"So," Jake said, checking his watch, "it's a little early for champagne, but I'm sure there's got to be a carton of orange juice in one of the break rooms. Feel like having mimosas?"

"I have a patient in ten minutes," Addison said. "How about right after that?"

"That works," Jake nodded. "Who's watching Henry?"

"Violet is."

"Oh, okay," Jake nodded.

"But I'll bring him by when I come back for mimosas," Addison promised. "Thanks for offering to watch him."

"I never offered," Jake pointed out.

"Yeah," Addison winked, "but I know you, and you were definitely going to."

xxxxx

"Do you have a minute?" Sheldon asked, as he knocked on the door to Jake's office.

Jake nodded. "Yeah, come on in, Sheldon. Take a seat," he said, gesturing to the seat across from him.

"Whoa what's with the champagne?" Sheldon asked.

"Addison got it for me. There's cake in the refrigerator too if you want some."

"Why did Addison get you champagne and cake?" Sheldon asked in confusion.

"It's my one year anniversary at the practice," Jake smiled.

"That's funny," Sheldon mused. "I've been working here for several years now, and Addison's never bought me champagne or cake."

"You said you wanted to talk," Jake cut in, redirecting the conversation.

"Right," Sheldon nodded. "I do."

"So, what's up?" Jake asked.

Sheldon took a deep breath. "I'm sleeping with Amelia," he confessed.

"What?" Jake gasped. "Since when? I mean, I kind of thought you two had potential, but this…this seems awfully fast. So are you two dating?"

"Oh, no, we're not together," Sheldon explained.

"You know, I could be wrong here, but you don't exactly strike me as the type to have meaningless sex, Sheldon."

"Oh, we're not having sex," Sheldon clarified. "We're just sleeping together…you know, spending the night at each others' places."

"So _sleeping_ in the literal sense of the word?" Jake asked in confusion.

"Yes," Sheldon nodded. "Now the shrink in me, the shrink in me knows this is wrong. But then again, it's Amelia, and I know, I know she's like eight-years-old, and I know she's vulnerable, right now…but it's Amelia, and I'd do anything to make her feel better. And if sleeping together makes her feel better, then I'll do it."

"So, I'm confused," Jake admitted. "Do you want me to tell you that this is okay? Or do you want me to convince you to stop sleeping with Amelia?"

Sheldon sighed, and put his head in his hands. "I want a piece of that cake that Addison bought for you," he mumbled.

"Sure, distract yourself with food," Jake teased. "Because that's healthy."

"Don't shrink me," Sheldon said irritably.

"Hey, I thought you came in here for advice," Jake defended.

"I did," Sheldon agreed. "And I still want it. I just want cake first."

xxxxx

"So, this is going to be a little cold," Addison warned, as she squirted some gel onto Charlotte's exposed abdomen, and began the ultrasound portion of the exam. She couldn't help smiling over at Cooper, who was sitting next to Charlotte, holding her hand, a wide smile on his face. He was so undeniably excited and already supportive – not that Addison ever had ever doubted him for a second – and she could tell that his enthusiasm had really helped to relax Charlotte.

"So," Addison began, with a wide smile on her face, "here's your baby." She stopped the transducer and turned the screen so that Charlotte and Cooper could get a better look, and Addison couldn't help smiling at the mesmerized looks on both of their faces. She returned her attention to the screen, and something caught her eye.

"Addison," Cooper began, seeing the change in his colleague's demeanor. "Is something wrong?"

Addison shook her head. "Everything's fine. It's just, here's your other baby."

"_Other_ baby?" Charlotte asked in surprise.

"Wait, twins?" Cooper breathed. "We're having twins?"

"You're having twins," Addison confirmed.

A wide smile spread across Cooper's face. "This is such great – ow!" he exclaimed, as Charlotte slapped him on the arm. "Hey, what was that for?"

"You couldn't just knock me up like a normal person?" Charlotte asked angrily.

"I, uh, I think I'll give you two some time," Addison said uncomfortably, as she made her way toward the door. "Congratulations again, you two," she said brightly.

"Okay, I know this was unexpected," Cooper started, once Addison had left the room, "but hear me out-"

"Cooper, a year ago, I didn't have any kids. Now, suddenly, I'm going to be a mother of three. Unexpected doesn't even begin to cut it."

"But unexpected isn't necessarily bad," Cooper pointed out. "And we can do this."

Charlotte looked at him skeptically.

"You know I'm right," Cooper insisted

Charlotte did her best to fight the smile that was forming on her face, but she couldn't help giving in. "You might be right," she mumbled.

"Might be?" Cooper teased.

"Fine, you're right. Happy?"

"Very," Cooper smiled. "Are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know," Charlotte began, as a small smile spread across her face, "I think I am."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you for all of your kind feedback on the last chapter and on this story so far! I love hearing what you think! I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for reading!

* * *

A month and a half had passed, and Charlotte was officially in her second trimester. She and Cooper wanted to wait until she had made it past the first trimester before they broke the news to anyone (besides Addison). They had told Mason about the babies after dinner, the other night, and he seemed excited. And Charlotte and Cooper agreed that becoming a big brother might actually be a good way to restore some normalcy to Mason's life. Children become older siblings every day, and being a soon-to-be big brother was also a way to give Mason another identity besides the one that he'd been reduced to lately – the kid who had recently lost his mother.

With the help of looser fitting shirts, Charlotte had managed to keep her pregnancy a secret from her coworkers. It wasn't that she had a problem with them knowing; she just wanted to make sure that she told Amelia before she and Cooper broke the news to the rest of the practice.

"Hey, Amelia," Charlotte said, as she knocked on the door to Amelia's office. "Do you have a second?"

Amelia looked up from her computer screen and met Charlotte's eyes. "Sure," she answered. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Charlotte nodded, as she took a seat across from Amelia. "I need to talk to you," she said after a moment.

"Are you okay?" Amelia asked in concern, as she registered the serious tone of Charlotte's voice. "What's wrong?"

Charlotte swallowed hard, and looked into the eyes of the woman, who over the past couple of years, had become her best friend. "I'm pregnant," she said. "I just-"

"No, no, stop, stop," Amelia cut in, sensing Charlotte's discomfort, and almost apologetic tone. "Just stop." A small smile came to Amelia's face as she repeated the words that Addison had said to her nearly a year ago; "I am so happy for you."

A look of relief swept over Charlotte's face. "I wanted to make sure I told you first," she admitted. "You know, before I told anyone else." She studied her friend's face carefully. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm okay," Amelia nodded. "And I really am happy for you. Charlotte, you're having a baby!"

"Uh, actually, I'm having two babies," Charlotte said.

"Wait, you're having twins?" Amelia asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Charlotte nodded.

Amelia shook her head in amusement, as she thought about her friend as a mother of three. "Wow," Amelia chuckled.

"I know," Charlotte agreed. "To be honest, I'm still getting used to the idea."

"Yeah," Amelia nodded, swallowing hard. "I can imagine."

"Uh, you okay?" Charlotte asked after a moment, sensing a change in her friend's demeanor.

"I'm okay," Amelia confirmed. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" Charlotte asked.

_About my son; about how our kids could have been friends; about how very different my life could have been_ Amelia thought to herself. But she couldn't share that with Charlotte. As close as they were, she couldn't bring herself to share any of that – not right now, at least. So she offered her friend a warm smile. "I was just thinking about what great parents you and Cooper are gonna be."

xxxxx

"I wasn't expecting you for another couple of hours," Sheldon chuckled, as he opened the door to his house and found Amelia standing outside.

But Amelia didn't respond – not verbally, at least. She wrapped her arms around Sheldon's neck and began kissing him passionately. Sheldon responded automatically, kissing her back, gently caressing her cheek with his hand, as they continued to make out heatedly in the doorway. But then logic kicked in.

"Amelia," he breathed, pulling away from her. "We, we can't do this."

"Why not?" Amelia asked, pressing her body against his.

Sheldon reluctantly took a step back, and put some space in between them.

"Sheldon," Amelia pleaded, "I need sex."

"Is this about Charlotte?" Sheldon asked, thinking about the announcement that Charlotte and Cooper had made earlier in the day.

Amelia shook her head. "I'm happy for her, Sheldon," she insisted.

Sheldon nodded. "I don't doubt that," he said. "It's just…" he trailed off.

"Fine," Amelia conceded with a sigh, "I'm jealous. I'm happy for her, but I'm jealous. She's married to a man that's wild about her, and they're having not one, but two adorable, healthy, perfect little babies. And they deserve it. They do. It's just," Amelia choked out, swallowing hard, "I wanted that so bad. The husband, the baby…I wanted that."

"I know," Sheldon said softly, pulling Amelia into a hug, feeling her tears soak through his shirt. "I know."

Amelia looked up at Sheldon and met his eyes. "So, sex?" she asked.

Sheldon shook his head. "You don't want sex, Amelia. Not really. Not like this."

"Trust me Sheldon, I want sex," Amelia insisted.

"How about dinner?" Sheldon offered. "I'm making pasta primavera."

Amelia sighed. "It's not sex," she began, "but I guess it's better than nothing."

"Okay," Sheldon nodded, as he led her into the kitchen.

"Hey, Sheldon?" Amelia asked after a moment.

"Yeah?"

"I'm still sleeping here tonight, right?"

Sheldon gave Amelia a warm smile. "I'd like that."

"Yeah," Amelia nodded. "Me too."

xxxxx

"Hey," Addison smiled, as Jake let her into his house, the next afternoon. "I was on my way home from the hospital, and just felt like dropping by."

"I'm glad you did," Jake grinned. "I, uh, I actually wanted to ask you something."

"Okay," Addison nodded.

"Angela's coming over tomorrow…she's bringing her boyfriend, and I've never met him before, and Angela and I were thinking that the whole situation might be less awkward for everyone if you were there."

"You're inviting me to meet your daughter and her boyfriend?" Addison asked Jake coyly.

"Well, only if you want to," Jake said. "And I mean, you already kind of know Angela, so-"

"Of course I'll be there," Addison cut in. "I want to be there."

"Thank you," Jake smiled, leaning in and kissing Addison softly on the lips. It was meant to be a simple, chaste kiss, but Addison immediately deepened it, wrapping her arms around Jake's neck, and pulling him in closer. Jake responded in kind, pressing Addison up against the closest wall, as she began trailing light kisses down his neck. She quickly began undoing the buttons of his button-down shirt, while he teasingly tugged at the zipper of her dress, as they continued to kiss passionately. They were so lost in each other that neither heard the front door open.

"Jake," Angela's voice rang out, immediately bringing Addison and Jake back to reality.

"Shit," Jake muttered, as he quickly zipped up Addison's dress before fumbling to button his own shirt, both him and Addison still breathing heavily.

"Oh, here you are," Angela said as she entered the kitchen with a boy that Jake and Addison assumed had to be Ethan. Angela shot her father a suspicious look before turning to her boyfriend. "Ethan," she began, "this is my father, Jake Reilly." She looked at her father and smirked. "He usually doesn't wear lipstick," Angela assured her boyfriend, as Jake immediately ran the back of his hand over his lips, in embarrassment, as he attempted to remove the remnants of Addison's lipstick from his mouth. "Oh, and he's usually very good at dressing himself too," Angela laughed, motioning towards Jake's shirt, which he had buttoned incorrectly in his rush to appear presentable for his daughter.

Jake looked over at Addison and the two exchanged a guilty smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ethan," Jake said, extending his hand to his daughter's boyfriend.

"You too, Mr. Reilly," Ethan nodded.

"Actually, it's Dr. Reilly," Jake corrected, desperate to gain some of his respectability back.

"Dad," Angela groaned in embarrassment.

"And this is Dr. Addison Montgomery," Jake smiled, gesturing towards Addison.

"Very nice to meet you," Addison smiled.

"So, wait," Jake began, looking at his daughter in confusion. "I thought that you two were coming over for lunch tomorrow. You know…the seventh."

"Today is the seventh," Angela laughed.

Jake looked down at his watch and realized she was right. "Oh," he muttered. "I, uh, I was planning on cooking for you, but that's not really an option anymore, so how does pizza sound?"

"Pizza sounds good," Angela said, and Ethan nodded in agreement.

Jake turned to Addison. "If you have to get home, I completely understand."

But Addison shook her head. "I'm staying." She shot Jake a teasing smile; "I think you need all the help you can get."

"Right," Jake laughed. "Anyway, I'll order the pizza. Angela, why don't you and Ethan and Addison go into the living room, and I'll join you once I'm finished."

"Why don't I help you order, Jake," Angela suggested. She looked at Ethan and Addison questioningly.

"Don't worry about us," Addison insisted. "I'm sure that Ethan and I can find plenty to talk about," she said, as she began leading Ethan into the living room.

Jake and Angela watched Addison and Ethan's retreating forms for a moment before Jake turned to face his daughter. "Is there a reason why we're being such horrible hosts and making things incredibly awkward for Addison and Ethan?" he asked.

"They'll be fine," Angela chuckled. "So…" she trailed off, looking at her father expectantly.

"Wh-why are you looking at me like that?" Jake asked.

Angela rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Come on, I'm an adult, Jake…we can talk about this…you had lipstick all over your mouth, your shirt was buttoned completely wrong-"

"I was one button off," Jake cut in defensively.

"Not to mention, you and Addison were both breathing pretty heavily when Ethan and I walked into the kitchen." Angela looked at her father smugly. "It doesn't seem like you're sending out mixed signals anymore."

"Ang."

"Jake. Come on."

Jake sighed. "Things with me and Addison…they're good."

"So you think she could be the one?" Angela asked, raising an eyebrow coyly.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to," Angela smiled.

"I like her a lot," Jake admitted, a slight smile playing on his face. "She's beautiful and she's brilliant and she's frustrating." He paused for a moment, and met his daughter's eyes. "She makes me happy."

"I can tell," Angela smiled. "You know, this is exactly what Mom would have wanted for you."

"You think?" Jake asked.

"Definitely," Angela nodded. "She would have wanted you to find someone who makes you happy…maybe not someone as impressive as Addison," she added with a smirk. "But, yeah, she would have wanted this."

Jake nodded. "We should probably get back to Addison and Ethan," he told his daughter. "There's only so much small talk that two people can make."

"Right," Angela agreed. "Oh, but, Jake?"

"Yes, Angela?"

"You should probably order the pizza first."

xxxxx

"I liked Ethan," Addison smiled. She, Jake, and Henry were in the kitchen of her house –she was sitting at the table with Henry on her lap, drinking wine, while Jake cooked dinner – it was his way of thanking her for meeting Ethan with him earlier in the day.

"I didn't," Jake said dryly.

Addison chuckled. "I mean, I get that you're not going to like any guy that your daughter brings home, but, I don't know, I thought Ethan seemed…nice. And Angela is clearly wild about him."

"_That's_ what worries me," Jake insisted. "Did you see her touching his leg underneath the table? And I wasn't exactly in the position to lecture her...not today, at least."

Addison laughed. "Yeah, well, the initial introduction could have gone a little smoother," she admitted, "but overall, I thought things went very well."

"I guess," Jake shrugged, as he sat down next to Addison. He turned his attention to Henry. "Don't get a serious girlfriend in college," he advised the little boy. "Wait at least until you're in med school, and more stable. Trust me on this one, Little Guy," he grinned, gently rubbing Henry's back.

"I think it's great that you're so protective over Angela," Addison smiled. "You did a really good job with her, Jake. She's an amazing young woman. And the relationship that you two have…well, I, I hope that Henry and I can have that one day."

"You will," Jake smiled.

"Thank you," Addison nodded. "Do you want another glass of wine?" she asked Jake, gesturing towards his empty wine glass.

"Thanks," Jake said, "but I probably shouldn't. I have to drive home."

Addison bit her lip. "You could always spend the night here," she suggested.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"I mean, I'm warning you now, the offer isn't exactly as tempting as it sounds…Henry doesn't always sleep through the night, so-"

"I'll take my chances," Jake smiled. "Besides, something tells me we're not going to do much sleeping tonight anyway."

xxxxx

Jake was right. They didn't do much sleeping – not that either of them were complaining. Henry even decided to do them a favor, and slept through the night. Of course, he was wide-awake at six, the next morning. So Jake showered while Addison fed and changed Henry and, after that, Addison took a shower, while Jake watched Henry.

After showering and getting ready, Addison made her way downstairs to join Jake and Henry, but as she got closer, the scene in front of her caused her to linger for a moment, just watching Henry and Jake. Jake was sitting on the couch, with Henry on his lap, reading the sports section of the newspaper out loud to Henry.

"Looks like we missed a good game, last night," Jake told Henry. "The A's beat the Twins 4-3 in extra innings. Oh, and the Mets beat the Braves 6-2. That should secure them a playoff spot. Oh, yeah, and the Yankees won too, but I guess that's not really too surprising, is it?" Jake chuckled, as Henry looked up at him contently.

"Hey," Addison smiled, as she joined Jake and Henry on the couch, feeling almost a little guilty for interrupting.

"Hey," Jake grinned, as Addison leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. "What was that for?" he asked when they broke apart.

Addison met his eyes and smiled. "Just…because."

Jake returned Addison's smile, and they sat there for a moment, lost in each other's eyes, until Henry began reaching his tiny hands out towards the newspaper, in Jake's lap, and started whimpering softly.

"Looks like I've got a little sports fan on my hands," Addison chuckled.

"Looks that way," Jake agreed, as he picked up the newspaper, and turned his attention to Henry. "Okay, Henry, where were we?" he asked, as he skimmed the newspaper. "Oh, that's right…baseball."

xxxxx

"Hey, do you have a minute?" Addison asked Charlotte, as she lightly tapped on her colleague's office door.

Charlotte looked up from her computer and met Addison's eyes. "Sure," she answered. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Addison smiled, as she sat down across from Charlotte.

"So, what's up?" Charlotte asked.

"Look, I know that we aren't exactly the closest of friends, but I need advice from someone who's in a stable relationship and, well, you and Cooper are as stable as they come, so…"

"So, what are you getting at?" Charlotte asked in confusion.

"Jake feels real," Addison said simply.

"What?"

"Jake feels real," Addison repeated. "I don't know how to explain it exactly, but when he says things and does things, it just, it seems genuine. And I forgot what that's like. With Sam, things felt…calculated…like there was always some pretense or expectation. And I don't feel that with Jake. For the first time, in a long time, I feel like I'm in a real, grown-up relationship, and it's just…nice."

"Addison, I'm a busy woman," Charlotte started. "Did you really come in here just to gush about your relationship with Jake?"

"It's just, I'm happy, Charlotte. I've spent the last couple of years walking on eggshells, never fully going after what I've wanted, feeling like a sad, pathetic shell of myself, and it's just, I feel like this weight has been lifted, you know?"

"Uh, that's good," Charlotte said, "but I'm still not sure what exactly you want from me."

Addison sighed. "I'm worried that things are too good."

"Too good?" Charlotte asked in confusion.

Addison nodded. "When I was with Sam, we argued constantly, and we were almost never on the same page…about anything. And Pete and Violet…their relationship is messy. So I just, I figured that maybe you and Cooper were the exception rather than the rule. But then I met Jake, and things are easy and relaxed and not complicated-"

"And you're doubting that?" Charlotte asked.

"I," Addison hesitated.

"You're being ridiculous," Charlotte said bluntly. "You know, a couple of months ago, Cooper came home and told me about this speech that Violet gave to him…about how she doesn't trust easy…about how anything worth having shouldn't be easy, because then you take it for granted. Cooper thought it was a good speech, so he told me about it."

Addison nodded. "What did you think?"

"I think it's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard," Charlotte admitted. "Life isn't easy. Our jobs aren't easy. But our relationships…those don't need to be difficult. I don't know about you, but there are enough things in my life that aren't easy, so it's nice, at the end of the day, to go home to Cooper, and have that relationship be easy…to be on the same page as my husband…to not be fighting with him every two seconds. I want easy when it comes to my relationship with my husband. And you're not wrong for wanting that too."

"Yeah," Addison breathed.

"So, if things with Jake are easy," Charlotte continued, "I'd embrace it. It doesn't mean that you two are taking each other for granted…no…if anything, it means the opposite…that you two care about each other enough to not let it get to the place where things get difficult and where you're taking each other for granted. So, I'm telling you, it's okay to trust easy. I do."

"Thank you, Charlotte," Addison smiled.

"You're welcome," Charlotte nodded, as Addison began getting up from her chair and making her way towards the door.

"Hey Addison," Charlotte called out.

Addison turned to face her colleague. "Yeah?"

Charlotte gave the redhead a warm smile. "It's nice to see you happy."

Charlotte watched Addison's retreating form, before returning to her paperwork. She had only been working a few minutes when a knock at her office door interrupted her.

"Come on in, Addison," she said, without looking up from her work. But an unmistakable masculine chuckle immediately alerted her to her mistake. Charlotte looked up and saw Cooper standing in the doorway of her office with a smirk on his face.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I thought you were Addison."

"You know, I get that a lot," Cooper teased, as he walked into Charlotte's office, and began gently rubbing her shoulders.

"Mm," Charlotte murmured, as Cooper massaged a particularly tense spot. "So, what's up?"

"I just wanted to see you," Cooper smiled. "Plus, I brought lunch," he added, gesturing to the bag of takeout in his hand. "Hungry?" he asked.

"In a minute," Charlotte nodded distractedly.

Cooper frowned. "Charlotte," he reprimanded. "You need to eat."

"And I will," Charlotte answered. "It's just, I had a little something else in mind first," she said suggestively.

Cooper didn't need to hear anymore. He quickly locked the door, and crashed his lips against his wife's as he maneuvered them over to the couch in her office. He began trailing kisses down Charlotte's neck, but she wasn't in the mood for foreplay. "Hurry up," she breathed, as she made quick work undoing of the buttons on his shirt, before pushing his shirt off his shoulders and peeling it down his arms. Cooper gave the zipper of Charlotte's dress the same hurried treatment, as Charlotte moved on to the zipper of Cooper's pants, each tearing frantically at the other's clothing, unable to undress each other quick enough.

The sex was hard and fast – ideal office sex, according to Charlotte. And as they lay together, naked, limbs intertwined, on Charlotte's office couch, Cooper looked down at his wife and smiled. "I love the second trimester," he murmured into her hair. Nothing could be more true – they had gotten past the nausea and the morning sickness, and although Charlotte was beginning to complain about her clothes not fitting properly, Cooper felt like he was reaping all the benefits of that famous second trimester. His wife had always had a healthy libido but, lately, her sex drive had been off the charts and he, for one, was not complaining about it.

"So," Cooper began, bringing his hand to Charlotte's stomach and rubbing it gently, "I've been thinking about it, and I think we're having two boys."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked.

"Just a hunch," Cooper shrugged.

"Well, you're wrong," Charlotte insisted. "I think we're havin' two girls."

"No," Cooper disagreed, "it's definitely two boys in there. But maybe the next one will be a girl."

"The next one?" Charlotte asked in disbelief. "Cooper, how many kids are you plannin' on having?"

"Oh, I don't know," Cooper shrugged. "A bunch."

"A bunch?" Charlotte repeated. "Well, I hadn't planned on having any, and now I'm gonna have three. I think that's more than enough."

"We'll see," Cooper smiled. "You'll change your mind once our adorable little boys get here."

"I still think we're gonna have two girls," Charlotte smirked.

"Well, as long as they're healthy," Cooper trailed off, and Charlotte nodded in agreement. Normally, she wouldn't let Cooper off the hook so easily, and would continue to banter playfully with him over the sex of their babies. But with everything that had happened at the practice lately, she knew all too well that a healthy baby wasn't a guarantee. So she decided to drop the gender debate, and placed a kiss on the corner of Cooper's lips, before continuing to enjoy her moment of happiness on the couch with her husband.

xxxxx

A month had passed. Amelia and Sheldon were still sleeping together without actually sleeping together, Addison and Jake had moved into full-blown couple mode, and Charlotte and Cooper were still enjoying the second trimester as they prepared for parenthood.

"So," Addison began, as she ran the ultrasound transducer over Charlotte's exposed abdomen, at the twin's eighteen-week checkup, "your babies look very healthy. Here, take a look."

Charlotte and Cooper smiled, as they intently focused on the screen in front of them. "They're perfect," Cooper breathed.

"They are," Addison agreed. "Here's a 3-D view, if you're interested," Addison said, as the image on the screen changed.

"Wow," Cooper smiled, as he took in the 3-D ultrasound. "I think that baby has my nose," he said, tapping the screen lightly.

"How can you tell?" Charlotte asked. "They both kinda look like aliens to me."

"Charlotte!" Cooper scolded. "Our children do _not_ look like aliens. And even if they did, you can't say that…their ears are developing, and they don't need to hear that."

Charlotte turned to Addison for confirmation, and Addison nodded. "Their ears are developing," she told her colleague. "Pretty soon, they'll be able to recognize your voice."

"Oh," Charlotte said, feeling slightly guilty, even though she still didn't think she had said anything incredibly inaccurate.

"Mommy didn't mean that," Cooper reassured his unborn children. "You don't look like aliens. You're adorable."

"So," Addison cut in, "this is your eighteen-week appointment so, if you want to, we can find out the babies' sexes. Do you want to know?"

Charlotte and Cooper both nodded. "We do," Charlotte said.

"Okay," Addison nodded. "Let's see, it looks like twin A is a boy," she said, looking up and smiling at the wide grins on Charlotte and Cooper's faces.

"I knew it!" Cooper exclaimed.

"And twin B," Addison began, as she repositioned the transducer, "twin B is a little girl."

"A girl," Cooper smiled. "We're having a boy and a girl?" he asked in disbelief.

"You are," Addison confirmed. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Charlotte breathed, feeling suddenly overwhelmed. She knew she was having twins, but, somehow, finding out the sexes of her babies made everything so much more real.

"You okay, Charlotte?" Addison asked, noticing the sudden change in her colleague's demeanor.

Charlotte nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I just, I can't believe it."

"It can be a lot to take in," Addison agreed, well used to seeing this type of reaction from her patients. "Why don't I give you two a minute alone," she said, as she made her way towards the door.

"Thank you," Cooper grinned.

"Of course," Addison nodded. "Congratulations again, you two," she added, before making her way out of the room.

Cooper watched Addison's retreating form before turning his attention back to Charlotte. "A girl and a boy!" he exclaimed. "Can you believe it?"

Charlotte couldn't help smiling at her husband's enthusiasm. "I can't believe it," she admitted.

"Me either," Cooper grinned. "Now we can go baby shopping and buy more than just yellow and green things, and we can get cribs, and clothes, and we need to come up with names…I know we talked about Walter and Marjorie but, I don't know, those names don't feel right anymore, what do you think? Oh, and-"

"Coop," Charlotte interrupted, harshly.

Cooper looked up and met his wife's eyes. "Too much?" he asked.

"Just a little," Charlotte chuckled.

"Right," Cooper laughed. "It's just," he trailed off, pausing a moment before getting lost in his wife's eyes, "I can't wait to meet them."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you so much for your kind feedback on the last chapter and on this story so far! I really appreciate it. A couple of disclaimers for this chapter: 1) There's no Amelia/Sheldon in this chapter; they'll be back next chapter. :) And 2) I have no medical background whatsoever (pathetic as it is, Grey's and Private Practice are pretty much my main sources of medical knowledge). That being said, the end of this chapter addresses a sensitive medical issue. I did my best to represent it respectfully and responsibly, but if it in any way comes across as offensive, that was not my intention. So, I just wanted to give a heads up. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and, as always, thanks so much for reading!

* * *

"So do you want to look at boys' names first or girls' names first?" Cooper asked his wife, as he thumbed through a book of baby names.

Charlotte looked at her husband warily. "Do you really think a baby name book is necessary?" she asked. "I mean, I think we already know which names we like and don't like. We don't need a book to make things more confusing."

"Charlotte, everyone gets a baby name book," Cooper defended. "It's like a tradition or something."

"I hate to break it to you, Coop, but when have we ever followed traditions?" Charlotte chuckled. "We never showed up to our own wedding, remember?"

"That was different," Cooper disagreed. "And I don't care; _I _plan on looking through this book. So, names?"

"I want something traditional," Charlotte nodded. "Not some trendy name that's popular now, but has no real staying power. And nothing overused. I don't want our son and daughter to share a name with five other kids in their kindergarten class. Oh, and since we're having a boy and a girl, I think we should avoid unisex names…that way there won't be any confusion about who's who."

"I can see why you don't need a baby name book," Cooper muttered. "You're practically a walking book."

"I just know what I like," Charlotte defended.

Cooper nodded. He wasn't about to argue with her there. "Okay, since the boys' names are first in this book, I think we should discuss our son's name first," he said opening the book up to the _A_ section, and skimming the names. "Hey, what do you think of Alexander?" he asked.

Charlotte looked at her husband in surprise. "I like it," she admitted. "I like it a lot."

"Me too," Cooper agreed. "But we're just on the A's. We should probably keep looking."

But Charlotte was shaking her head. "No, Alexander's it," she insisted. "It's perfect."

"Charlotte, we've been discussing names for, what, all of two minutes," Cooper sighed, pointing to his watch for emphasis, "and you already decided on a name for our son."

"I know what I like," Charlotte defended, "and I like Alexander." She looked at her husband questioningly. "Do you like it?"

"I do," Cooper nodded. "It's just, I want to make sure we choose the right names for our children. I don't want it to feel like a hasty decision."

"Okay," Charlotte conceded. "I get that. So, why don't we move on to a name for our daughter, and you can keep lookin' in that little book of yours and, if you find somethin' you like better for our son, let me know, and we'll discuss it. But I really like Alexander."

"Okay," Cooper agreed. "So, girls' names." He looked at his wife. "Do you have something in mind?" he asked.

"I like Clara," Charlotte admitted. "It's traditional, girly, and grown-up all at the same time," she explained, as she watched Cooper's eyes soften.

"It's perfect," he nodded.

"But I'm open to other suggestions," Charlotte added quickly.

"No," Cooper breathed. "I like Clara."

"And it sounds good with Alexander," Charlotte chuckled.

"Yeah," Cooper smiled. "It does. So, wait, that's it, we're done?"

Charlotte shrugged. "We still need middle names, but, yeah, I like the first names we chose."

"But doesn't it usually take most people months to come up with names?" Cooper asked in confusion.

"Coop, if I've told you once, I've told you a million times," Charlotte chuckled, leaning in and giving her husband a soft kiss, "we're not most people."

xxxxx

"Hey," Addison smiled, as she walked into Jake's house, carrying Henry. She made her way into the living room, and saw Jake sitting on the couch looking defeated. "What's wrong?" she asked her boyfriend in concern.

Jake looked up and met Addison's eyes. "I think I need to take a rain check on dinner," he said.

"Wait, why?" Addison asked, moving to sit down next to him on the couch.

"It's Angela," Jake sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Something happened with her and Ethan, and she locked herself in her room, upstairs, and she won't talk to me or let me in. And I, I don't know what to say or do. I'm in over my head here."

"I, uh, I could try talking to her," Addison offered.

Jake shrugged. "I don't know. She's not letting me in, so…"

"You're a guy, Jake," Addison interrupted. "Angela loves you but, at the end of the day, you're still a guy."

"I'm her father," Jake insisted.

"And you're a good one," Addison nodded. "Still…" she trailed off, "some things are hard to talk to your father about. Let me see what I can do."

"Okay," Jake nodded, as Addison got off the couch. "Wait, where are you going?" he asked as he followed Addison into the kitchen. "Her room's upstairs."

"I know," Addison said. "I just thought some junk food might help," she explained, as she opened the freezer. "Frozen yogurt?" she asked, giving Jake a disapproving headshake, as she removed a carton of strawberry frozen yogurt.

"It's Angela's," Jake shrugged. "I hate strawberry ice cream, you know that."

"You really should start buying the good stuff," Addison advised, removing two spoons from the drawer. She looked at her son and gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry Henry, but I have the feeling that Angela's room is going to be a guy free zone, so how about you stay here with Jake for a little while? Does that sound okay?" she asked, as she handed Henry to her boyfriend, before heading upstairs to Angela's room.

When she reached Angela's room, she knocked lightly on the door, waiting for Angela's response.

"I said I'm fine, Jake. Please just go away."

"It's not Jake," Addison said softly. "It's Addison. Look, I definitely understand if you want to be alone right now, but, uh, if you want to talk-"

But she was cut off by the sound of the door unlocking, and Angela opened the door.

"Hey," Addison said gently, taking in Angela's red, puffy eyes and tearstained face. "I, uh, I brought ice cream…well, frozen yogurt."

"Thanks," Angela nodded. "Do, do you want to come in?"

"Only if you want me to," Addison said, still trying to negotiate her relationship with her boyfriend's twenty-year-old daughter.

Angela nodded, and Addison stepped inside and watched as Angela walked over to her bed, and curled up into a ball. Addison looked around the room for somewhere to sit, and when she didn't see a chair, she hesitantly sat down on the edge of Angela's bed.

"Frozen yogurt?" she offered, removing the lid of the strawberry frozen yogurt, and handing Angela a spoon.

"Thanks," Angela said, accepting the spoon, and offering Addison a weak smile. "Did Jake send you up here to check on me?" Angela asked, before swallowing a spoonful of frozen yogurt.

Addison shook her head. "No."

Angela sighed before meeting Addison's eyes. "Ethan ended things with me."

"I'm really sorry," Addison apologized, rubbing Angela's back reassuringly.

"It just, it sucks," Angela said, eating another spoonful of frozen yogurt. "I, I thought he was the one."

Addison nodded sympathetically, and stuck her spoon into the frozen yogurt.

"But apparently Ethan doesn't want to be tied down," Angela went on. "And now it's just awkward because we have a lot of classes together, and I…how do you just break up with someone and then see them every day and act like nothing ever happened between the two of you?"

"It's hard," Addison admitted.

Angela raised an eyebrow. "Are you speaking from experience?"

Addison sighed, debating just how open she should be with Jake's daughter. "Yeah," she chuckled. "Believe it or not, your father is not the first coworker I dated, so I've had my fair share of painful moments in the workplace."

"Really?" Angela asked in surprise.

Addison nodded. "Before I moved out to California, I worked with my ex-husband and his girlfriend in Seattle. And trust me, painful doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of that experience. But I got through it…some days less gracefully than others…but I got through it, and so will you."

"I don't know," Angela admitted. "I just, I don't want to face him. I don't want to face anyone…that's why I'm hiding out here."

"I get that," Addison nodded. "You know, the day I knew that my marriage was over, I didn't want to face anyone either. I showed up to work long enough to tell my boss that I was taking the day off, and went straight to the nearest bar and spent the day drinking martinis and eating muffins in sweatpants and a bucket hat and a shirt that had a coffee stain on it." She gestured towards Angela's frozen yogurt and clean clothing. "I'd say you're doing pretty well for yourself comparatively."

"I'm wearing sweats," Angela pointed out, gesturing to her Victoria's Secret Pink sweatpants and sweatshirt. "And a drink kind of sounds good, right now," she added, looking at Addison questioningly.

"You're twenty," Addison reminded her.

"I'm in college, Addison. Do you really think I don't drink there?"

"Hey, that's your business," Addison said, holding up her hands in protest.

"I'm not going anywhere tonight," Angela reasoned. "And you, you could drink with me."

Addison sighed. "It's not the worst idea in the world," she conceded. "But let me talk to your dad first."

"Okay," Angela agreed.

Addison nodded, before getting off the bed and making her way towards the door. "Poison of choice?" she asked.

"Anything," Angela answered.

"A girl after my own heart," Addison chuckled.

A few minutes later, Addison returned to Angela's room with Jake and Henry; Addison was carrying her son, and Jake was carrying a few bottles of beer.

"Can I come in?" he asked his daughter hesitantly.

Angela nodded, and Jake, Addison, and Henry entered her room.

"Uh, here," Jake said, handing his daughter a bottle of beer, before handing one to Addison as well.

"Thanks," Angela said quietly, accepting her beer and opening it.

Jake nodded. "This wasn't exactly the way I envisioned us having our first drink together," he admitted, as he opened his own bottle of beer.

"You know," Addison began, "if you two want a minute alone, I could always take Henry and-"

"Stay," Angela insisted. "I mean, I'd like it if you stayed,"

"Okay," Addison nodded, as she, Jake, and Angela drank for a moment in silence.

"Ugh, I hate guys," Angela groaned, taking a sip of her beer. She turned to her father quickly. "No offense or anything…I wasn't talking about you, obviously. Or you, Henry," she added with a chuckle, motioning towards the baby in Addison's arms. "You're way too cute to hate."

"He's pretty good at making people feel better too," Addison smiled, placing Henry into Angela's outstretched arms. "I always say it's impossible to feel bad about anything when I'm around him."

"He really is too cute," Angela chuckled. "And he is kind of making me feel better…well, he's helping more than the beer and the ice cream," she amended.

Addison smiled as she watched Angela fuss over Henry before looking over at Jake and meeting his eyes.

"Thank you," Jake mouthed over his daughter's head.

Addison looked at the scene in front of her and smiled; "You're welcome," she mouthed back.

xxxxx

"So," Jake smiled, as he walked into Addison's office, "you ready to go?"

Addison looked up at her boyfriend and gave him an apologetic smile. "Almost," she said. "Something came up at the hospital, this morning, and Charlotte and Cooper had to push back their appointment with me."

"When's the appointment?" Jake asked, looking at his watch.

"In about five minutes," Addison answered. "But I'll be ready once I'm finished with them."

Jake sighed dramatically. "I guess I can wait," he teased.

Addison shot him a flirtatious smile. "I'll make it up to you," she promised.

"In that case, take as long as you need," Jake chuckled.

He and Addison had planned a romantic weekend getaway in Palm Springs, complete with a luxurious hotel suite, champagne, and a private cabana on the beach. Henry was spending the weekend with Violet, Pete, and Lucas; and although Addison was a little nervous about being away from Henry for an entire weekend, she had to admit, she was really looking forward to her romantic getaway with Jake.

"I'll see you in a little bit," Addison smiled, getting up from her chair, and giving Jake a chaste kiss before making her way out the door.

Charlotte and Cooper were already waiting for her in the exam room when she arrived.

"Thanks again for rescheduling us, Addison," Charlotte smiled.

"Not a problem," Addison insisted, dismissing her colleague's thanks. "So," she began, "how have you been feeling?"

"Good," Charlotte nodded.

"Any morning sickness?"

Charlotte shook her head. "Nope, that's completely died down."

"That's good," Addison smiled. "And you're twenty-two weeks along," Addison continued, consulting Charlotte's chart for confirmation, "so you should be able to feel the babies moving around and kicking pretty regularly."

Charlotte and Cooper exchanged a glance, and Addison caught it.

"Charlotte," she prodded gently.

"I, uh, I wouldn't say that I can feel them moving around regularly. I mean, sometimes I can feel them…but not regularly. And their kicks haven't been strong enough for Cooper to feel."

Addison nodded. "Well, let's take a look," she said, prepping Charlotte for an ultrasound. Addison expertly found the babies immediately, and as she continued to scan, she felt a bubble of fear build in her throat. "I, uh, I'll be right back," she said, doing her best to keep her voice neutral.

"Addison," Charlotte said in a panic, "what's wrong?"

"I, uh, I'll be right back," Addison repeated, making her way towards the door.

"Addison," Cooper called out. "You need to tell us what's wrong."

"It might be nothing," Addison said, doing her best to appear calm and confident. "I just, let me get Jake. I'll be right back."

She could hear Charlotte and Cooper calling after her, but she chose to ignore them, as she rushed into Jake's office, praying that he'd be there.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jake asked, looking up from his paperwork and taking in the look of fear and devastation in his girlfriend's eyes.

"I need you for a second opinion," Addison told him.

"Charlotte?" Jake asked, fear lacing his voice.

Addison nodded mutely.

"Okay, let's go," Jake said, placing a reassuring hand on the small of Addison's back, as he and Addison made their towards the exam room.

"Hey, Charlotte," Jake smiled, as he entered the room. "Cooper," he nodded.

"Okay," Charlotte began, "someone here needs to tell us what exactly is going on."

"Okay," Addison nodded, before picking up the ultrasound probe and beginning to scan.

Jake watched the screen carefully and, when he had seen enough, he met Addison's eyes, and nodded sadly.

"Okay, somebody better start talkin'," Charlotte said impatiently.

Addison swallowed hard. "Charlotte," she began hesitantly. "It appears as though the babies aren't developing as well as we'd like them to. They're much smaller than they should be at this point, and-"

"How is that possible?" Cooper interrupted. "At our last ultrasound, you said they were perfect."

"That was four weeks ago," Addison explained. "A lot can change in a month."

"Okay," Charlotte began slowly, "so they're smaller than they should be…what can we do?"

"And aren't twins supposed to be smaller anyway?" Cooper asked, refusing to believe that there was anything wrong with his children.

"You're right," Addison nodded. "Twins are often a little smaller than single babies…but your babies are small, even for twins."

Jake sighed heavily. "It looks like your twins have IUGR."

"What?" Cooper breathed, still unwilling to believe anything that Addison and Jake were saying.

"Intrauterine growth restriction," Jake said quietly. "That means that the babies are not receiving enough placental nutrients, and aren't developing at a normal, healthy rate."

"So, if Charlotte ups her calorie intake, will that fix things," Cooper asked, gesturing to his wife, who was staring at Jake and Addison disbelievingly, unable to form words.

Addison swallowed hard. "We can put Charlotte on a higher protein diet, and increase her fluid intake, but we're going to need to run some tests and make sure that there aren't chromosomal problems or infections…and then, then we should talk about your options."

"What do you mean talk about our options?" Cooper asked.

"Why don't we run the tests first," Jake suggested.

"No," Charlotte said, suddenly finding her voice. "I want to hear about the options now."

Jake and Addison exchanged a pain-filled glance, and Jake nodded at Addison reassuringly.

"In situations like these," Addison began hesitantly, "we often recommend a selective reduction."

Charlotte felt her jaw clench tightly. "Don't sugar-coat this, Addison," she said dryly. "If you're gonna recommend that we abort one of our babies, you might as well just come out and say it directly."

"The medical community prefers the term selective reduction," Jake explained gently. "It's less harsh and easier to stomach."

Charlotte looked at him sternly. "Do I look like someone who wants to be coddled?" she asked him.

Jake shook his head. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

Charlotte swallowed hard. "So, uh, hypothetically…_very_ hypothetically…let's say, I went ahead with the procedure…you know to give one of the babies the very best possible chance at developing normally and surviving and living a normal life…how, how are we supposed to choose between our children?"

"_If_ we decide to go through with the procedure," Addison began, we'll run tests, and determine which twin has a better chance of developing normally based on size, genetic makeup, and amniotic fluid…and from there, we'll either abort Twin A or Twin B."

"No," Cooper cut in.

"Excuse me?" Addison asked.

"Not Twin A or Twin B," Cooper choked out. "Alexander or Clara. They have names. Alexander or Clara."

"I'm sorry," Addison apologized, suppressing her own need to cry as she took in the pain-stricken faces of her colleagues. "I- this is a lot to take in, I know. So, why don't Jake and I give you two a couple of minutes alone before we run the tests?"

Addison didn't know whether Charlotte and Cooper had responded to her, because she rushed out of the exam room as quickly as she possibly could, Jake following closely behind her. She stormed into her office, slumped down on her couch, and finally gave in to the tears that she had been so desperately holding back.

Jake immediately sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around her, rubbing her back and stroking her hair gently.

Addison looked up at him and met his eyes. "You know," she began tearfully, "if I wasn't a woman of science, I'd…I'd almost have to believe that there's some horrible, evil being out there who is so firmly and unexplainably against pregnancy."

Jake looked at Addison in confusion.

"Look at me," Addison sniffled. "I'm a world-class O.B. who can't have children. I love Henry more than anything…you know that…but you saw how much pain I went through trying to get pregnant. And then there's my friends and colleagues…Callie, Violet, Amelia, and Charlotte. They all got pregnant, but not one of them, _not one of them_ had a good pregnancy. Callie and Violet almost lost their babies. And Amelia's son…Amelia's son never even had a chance. And now Charlotte…who knows what's going to happen to her twins."

"Addison."

I'm telling you, Jake, if I didn't know any better, I'd think that there was someone out there…someone out there who's controlling me and all of the women closest to me, who absolutely and inexplicably hates pregnancy. And I know, I know I sound ridiculous…I know, I know…" Addison choked out, as her words dissolved in into sobs.

Jake felt a dull ache in his chest, as he watched his girlfriend break down in his arms. "I'm sorry, Addison," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

Addison looked up and met his eyes. "It's not your fault," she whispered tearfully.

"I know," Jake said sadly. "But, still, I'm sorry."

xxxxx

"Say something," Cooper told his wife. "Please, just say anything."

"I don't know what to say," Charlotte admitted.

"This wasn't the way that things were supposed to be," Cooper choked out sadly. "This wasn't how it was supposed to be at all."

Charlotte wanted to say something to comfort her husband, but she was at a loss for words. Truth be told, she needed someone to comfort her. So, she and Cooper just sat there in silence, looking at each other sadly.

"I'm scared," Charlotte finally whispered. "I don't think I've ever been so scared in my whole life."

The sentence was barely out of her mouth before Charlotte felt Cooper wrap his arms around her protectively. "I'm scared too," he admitted, kissing the top of her head. "I'm so scared."

xxxxx

Addison walked back to her office, her head hung. She had just returned from performing a series of tests on Charlotte and Cooper's twins, and now it was a waiting game until the results came in. As much as she had initially been looking forward to her weekend away with Jake, all she wanted to do now was wait around for the test results to come back; she didn't want some random doctor breaking potentially world shattering news to Charlotte and Cooper.

As she got closer to her office, she could see that Jake was on the phone and, as and she walked inside her office, she tried to discern who he was on the phone with, as she listened to his side of the conversation.

"I know I asked for champagne in the room," Jake said into the phone, "but I need you to get rid of it…No, we don't want it anymore," Jake explained. "I don't care what you do with the strawberries," Jake said impatiently. "Just make sure that there's no champagne in sight. The people who are coming to your hotel in our place are not celebrating."

Addison continued to listen as Jake wrapped up the phone call, and when he hung up, she met his eyes. "Who was that?" she asked.

Jake looked at her guiltily. "I know I probably should have run this by you first," he began hesitantly, "but I was thinking that maybe we should ask Charlotte and Cooper should go to Palm Springs in our place. They need to get away and process everything that's going on. And I can take Mason for the weekend. Charlotte and Cooper need some time alone if they're going to get through this."

Addison nodded, touched by her boyfriend's compassion. "_We_ can take Mason," she corrected. "And I think you're right. Charlotte and Cooper need to get away. And, to be honest, I…I just want to go home and hug my son."

Jake smiled. "Yeah," he nodded.

"Thank you, Jake," Addison whispered, wrapping her arms around him.

"For what?" Jake asked in confusion.

"You're always thinking about other people," Addison explained, kissing him softly.

Jake responded in kind, wrapping his arms around Addison's neck, running his hands through her hair, and kissing her deeply.

But a knock at Addison's office door prevented the kiss from escalating into anything more.

"Charlotte," Addison breathed, when she saw her coworker standing in the doorway. "Uh, do you need anything? Can I help you with anything?"

"I need to talk to you," Charlotte said simply. "Alone."

Jake nodded. "I'm going to go grab my stuff from my office," he said. "Come get me when you're ready to leave, Addison."

"Okay," Addison nodded, as she watched Jake leave her office, closing the door behind him. She motioned for Charlotte to sit down on the couch, and Addison sat down next to her, and waited for Charlotte to make the first move.

"I don't know what to do," Charlotte admitted after a moment.

Addison nodded sympathetically. "You and Cooper need to take some time and get away. Jake and I were going to go away to Palm Springs together this weekend…but we want you and Cooper to go instead. Everything's already set up. The reservation is under Jake's name. Just, go…you need a couple of days away from everyone…away from everything. Jake and I will watch Mason."

"Addison, you don't-"

"Charlotte, this isn't up for debate. You're going. We're watching Mason. And I promise I'll call you as soon as your labs come in."

"Thank you," Charlotte nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. "Still, I don't…I don't know what to do."

"Take the weekend and discuss it with Cooper," Addison said gently. "I think that'll help."

"Yeah," Charlotte nodded, "I'll discuss it with Cooper. It's just, I, uh, I want to discuss it with you first, you know, woman to woman."

"Oh," Addison said in surprise. She and Charlotte were coworkers, and she respected Charlotte immensely as a colleague and as a person, but they had never been great friends, so Charlotte's request caught her a bit off guard.

"What would you do?" Charlotte asked bluntly. "What would you do if you were in my position?"

Addison sighed heavily. "Well," she began hesitantly, "from a medical standpoint, selective abortion-"

"I wasn't asking what you'd do from a medical standpoint," Charlotte interrupted. "I was asking what _you _would do."

Addison swallowed hard, and met Charlotte's eyes. "I'd do everything I could to keep both babies."

"Yeah," Charlotte nodded. "That's what I was thinkin' too."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you so much for the kind feedback on the last chapter. So, in my attempt to make sure that I was representing selective reduction respectfully and responsibly, I was a bit negligent with my geography. I learned in one of my reviews that Palms Springs isn't on the water, and isn't a great place to vacation (which is sad because it sounds like a nice place to me :) ). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and, as always, thanks for reading!

* * *

"Hey, so I was just looking up the etymology of the name Alexander," Cooper began, gesturing to the book of babies' names in his hand, "and, apparently, it means warrior. How perfect is that? And I was thinking that we could give Clara a symbolic middle name…you know, something that means strong or fighter, or something."

Charlotte looked away from her iPad and met her husband's eyes. "Let's not talk about that right now, okay?" she asked, quickly turning her attention back to her iPad.

"Char?" Coop asked worriedly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm reading up on selective abortion," Charlotte answered. "Apparently in a lot of the cases where the parents opted to do nothing, both babies were born with severe disabilities, and neither was able to go on to live a normal life. I don't know, it just makes me think-"

"Charlotte, that's not going to happen to us," Cooper insisted.

"Cooper, it very well could happen to us," Charlotte shot back. "You need to stop pretending that everything's fine, because it's not. And you pretending that everything's okay isn't going to make everything okay."

"What are you saying, Charlotte? Are you saying you want to just go ahead with the procedure?"

"No, I'm not saying that," Charlotte snapped. "I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that we need to consider all of the possible outcomes here…not just the positive ones."

"Charlotte, I-"

"Look, Cooper, I don't want to lose either of our babies. I don't. I really don't. But, at the same time, I also know that we have to be realistic. So before you go picking out middle names, I just, I need to hear back from Addison first. I need the results of those tests."

"Okay," Cooper nodded. "Why do you think it's taking her so long to get back to us? I mean, she promised she'd call us with the results as soon as she got them. You don't think-"

"No, Addison will call us as soon as she finds out anything," Charlotte insisted confidently. "She knows we're on pins and needles. She'll call us as soon as she gets the results." Charlotte sighed heavily. "I just wish she'd call already."

"We should distract ourselves," Cooper suggested.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow skeptically. "How?"

"I don't know," Cooper admitted. "But this hotel is pretty classy. I'm sure we can find something to do…because we're going to drive ourselves crazy sitting around in this hotel room waiting for Addison to call."

Charlotte nodded in agreement, even though there was nothing she wanted to do more than sit around in their hotel room waiting for Addison's call.

"How about dinner?" Cooper suggested. "Jake and Addison made reservations at this really fancy Italian restaurant in the hotel."

Charlotte shrugged. "I'm not really hungry," she admitted.

"Charlotte," Cooper scolded, "you need-"

"I know I need to eat, Coop," Charlotte interrupted. "So you can spare me the lecture."

"Sorry," Cooper apologized. "It's just, I care."

"I know you do," Charlotte said, her voice softening. "I'm just…overwhelmed. I feel so helpless, right now. And I hate feeling helpless."

"I know," Cooper said softly, as he gently massaged Charlotte's tense shoulders. "We can do whatever you want to do."

"Let's get dinner," Charlotte said. "You're right, I do need to eat something."

"Okay," Cooper agreed. "Let's go."

The words had barely left his mouth when Charlotte's cell phone, which was lying on the center of the bed, started ringing.

"It's Addison," Charlotte breathed, checking the name on the phone.

"Put it on speakerphone," Cooper requested.

"Okay," Charlotte nodded, as she answered the phone. "Hi, Addison," she said hesitantly.

"Hi, Charlotte."

"So, I'm assuming you're callin' with the results of the tests?" Charlotte asked.

"I am," Addison confirmed. "The tests don't seem to indicate any chromosomal abnormalities or any signs of infection."

"Really?" Charlotte asked, disbelievingly.

"Really," Addison assured her.

"So now what?" Charlotte asked.

"Now you enjoy your weekend."

"Addison," Charlotte said testily.

Addison sighed. "IUGR is still a problem. So, when you get back, we can discuss different courses of action. And I can give you all the information and statistics when you get back because…you still have a very serious decision to make."

"I know," Charlotte nodded.

"But this is good news, right?" Cooper insisted.

"It is good news," Addison agreed. "Your babies' chromosome tests came back normal, which means that they aren't carrying any serious chromosomal diseases. We just need to work on getting them enough nutrients and oxygen to get them caught up developmentally."

"And would selective abortion do that?" Charlotte asked.

"Why don't we talk about this when you get back," Addison suggested.

"Addison," Charlotte said sharply.

Addison sighed. "It may," she admitted. "But it's not a guarantee. There's several complications that can result from a selective abortion, but we should really get into that when you guys get back. And I know it's hard with everything that's going on, but you should both really try to relax this weekend."

"Easier said than done," Charlotte muttered.

"I know," Addison admitted.

"How's Mason?" Charlotte asked, looking to change the topic of conversation.

"I don't know," Addison confessed. "I haven't been home. I've been waiting around at the hospital for the test results. Jake's with him though. He was saying something about having a guy's night with Henry and Mason…whatever that entails," Addison chuckled.

"I'm sure he's fine," Cooper reassured his wife. "Thank you for calling, Addison. And thank you for waiting around at the hospital."

"You don't need to thank me," Addison insisted. "Anyway, please do your best to enjoy the weekend, and if you have any questions…or if you just want to talk, you can call me…whenever."

"Thank you, Addison," Charlotte said. "Anyway, we should probably go."

"So, that's good news," Cooper smiled, as Charlotte hung up the phone.

"It is," Charlotte nodded. "It's just, we're not out of the woods yet."

"One step at a time, Char. One step at a time."

"Hey, Coop?"

"Yes, Charlotte?"

"Now's really not the time for clichés." She thought for a moment, and met her husband's eyes. "Unless, of course, it's 'happily ever after.'"

xxxxx

"So, this is nice," Sheldon smiled. Truthfully, that was a bit of a stretch. He had invited Amelia out for a fancy dinner – a non-date date, so to speak. She had initially declined, saying that there were other things she'd prefer to do with him. But he was persistent. He felt that if they were sleeping together, the least they could do was go out to dinner together – share a meal and some nice conversation.

Except the conversation wasn't nice. It was awkward and stilted. They had never had that problem before.

"So, how was your day?" Sheldon asked, trying to start up another conversation.

"Pretty much the same as it was, when you asked me fifteen minutes ago," Amelia smirked. "Hey, what do you say we just ask for the check, and go back to my place?"

"Amelia," Sheldon scolded. "We're out for a nice dinner. We should at least try to enjoy it." He looked at her for a moment, racking his brain, desperately trying to come up with some type of conversation starter. "So, uh, is there anything exciting happening with you?" he asked; sure, it was a lame attempt at conversation, but she wasn't giving him much to work with.

"Nope," Amelia shrugged. "You?"

"Not really," Sheldon admitted regretfully. He sighed heavily. "So, uh, do you have any plans for the rest of the weekend?"

"Not that I know of," Amelia responded.

"Yeah, me either," Sheldon nodded. "Hey, how's the house coming along?"

"You spend a fair bit of time in my house, Sheldon," Amelia smirked. "You know how it's coming along."

"Yeah, well, I only really see your bedroom," Sheldon defended.

_I wish we were there now, instead of sitting here having the world's most awkward conversation,_ Amelia thought to herself.

Sheldon' sighed. Tonight was not going how he planned at all. "Amelia, we can't do this anymore."

"You're right," Amelia chuckled. "We've become horrible conversationalists. So, what do say, we get out of-"

"No, we have to stop sleeping together," Sheldon clarified.

"What? Why? Is it not good for you, or something?"

"No, no, it's good for me," Sheldon said. "It's very good for me. It's just, I'm losing you as a friend, and I don't want that."

"You're not losing me as a friend, Sheldon," Amelia insisted.

"Amelia, we're sitting here struggling to make basic conversation. We never had a hard time talking to each other in the past."

"Talking is overrated," Amelia smirked. "Look at Addison and Sam. The two of them didn't have a real conversation with each other for most of the time they dated, and-"

"And they're not together anymore," Sheldon filled in. "And even if they were, you and I both know that their relationship was not one to emulate."

"You're right," Amelia conceded. "So, now what?"

"I want my friend back," Sheldon said softly.

"We can be friends who have sex," Amelia bargained.

"No," Sheldon said, shaking his head. "No, we can't."

Amelia sighed. He was right. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. "Is it okay if I resent you for a while?"

"Yeah," Sheldon nodded. "I think it's going to take some time for both of us to stop resenting me."

"Okay," Amelia agreed reluctantly. Then, mustering up some fake enthusiasm, she gave Sheldon a tempting smile; "Hey, wanna get dessert…friend?"

Sheldon hadn't expected it, but Amelia's use of the word, 'friend,' was like a knife to the chest. Sure, he was the one who suggested that they just be friends; he just didn't expect it to hurt as much as it did. But he couldn't say anything about it, because them being friends was his idea in the first place. So, he did the only thing he could – he gave her a wide smile. "I'd love dessert."

xxxxx

"I'm home," Addison called out, as she walked through the front door to her beach house.

"In the kitchen," Jake called back. And Addison walked into the kitchen to find Jake, Henry, and Mason at the kitchen table. Henry was sitting on Jake's lap, and Mason was eating what looked like a hot fudge sundae.

"Hey," Jake said, giving Addison a soft smile.

Addison returned his smile. "It looks like you guys are having fun."

"We are," Mason grinned. "Jake ordered a pizza, and then he took me and Henry to the store, and let me pick out whatever kind of ice cream I wanted. And he let me get a topping too."

"I'm pretty sure Henry's counting down the days until he's old enough to eat ice cream," Jake laughed. And Addison couldn't help smiling as she looked over at her son, who was practically salivating watching Mason eat his sundae.

"One day, Henry," she cooed, taking her son from Jake's arms and cuddling him close. "You'll be eating ice cream before we know it." She turned her attention back to Jake. "So all of the tests came back okay," she said as neutrally as possible, not wanting to tip off Mason to the fact that there was anything out of the ordinary was going on. Unfortunately, she wasn't successful.

"Is something wrong?" Mason asked in concern.

Addison hesitated for a moment, cursing the little boy's perceptiveness, as she distantly remembered hearing something about Charlotte promising Mason that she'd always tell him the truth. Addison, however, had made no such promises and, if need be, was prepared to lie through her teeth.

"Actually, there is something wrong," Jake cut in before Addison could say anything.

"Really?" Mason asked, both his and Addison's eyes widening in surprise.

Jake nodded and looked at his watch. "It's late, and if you don't get to bed soon, you're going to be too tired to enjoy the fun day we have planned for tomorrow."

"Oh," Mason said, a slight smile coming to his face. "I should probably go brush my teeth and get ready for bed then."

"That sounds like a good idea," Jake agreed.

Addison chuckled as Mason ran off to brush his teeth. She turned to her son. "We should probably think about putting you down for bed too, Henry." She grabbed the newspaper from the counter and smiled. "Bedtime story," she laughed, holding the newspaper up so that Jake could see it.

Neither Addison nor Jake could explain it, but ever since Jake had read Henry the Sports section of the newspaper, the little boy seemed to prefer having the newspaper read to him instead of his books. At first, Addison had read the Sports section of the paper to Henry, before bed, but she quickly found that, in addition to helping put Henry to sleep, reading the Sports section of the paper aloud to her son was putting her to sleep as well. So she began reading him the Arts and Leisure section of the paper, before bed, and was thrilled when she learned that Henry couldn't tell the difference. Still, she didn't want her son to miss out on sports scores and stats, so she and Jake struck up an arrangement – he would read Henry the Sports section in the morning, and she would read Henry the Arts and Leisure section at night.

After putting Henry to bed, Addison made her way back downstairs, and found Jake setting the kitchen table.

"Hey," he smiled, when she came up behind him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I ordered pizza for Mason, but I wasn't sure if you were in the mood for pizza or for something healthier, so we have pizza and grilled chicken salad."

"Will you judge me if I say I want pizza?" Addison chuckled.

Jake looked at her adoringly. "Have I ever once judged you?"

"No," Addison smiled. "You're kind of amazing like that."

"Hey, Addison?"

"Yeah?"

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now, and I was going to tell you this weekend, but I think this is better. You know, sometimes when you dress something like this up, and try to create this perfect moment, you lose something, and it becomes less real. And I don't want that…not with you. You know what I mean?"

"Not really," Addison admitted.

"I love you, Addison," Jake smiled, taking her hands in his. "I just, I thought you should know."

Addison felt her heart swell at Jake's words. "Jake, I love you so much," she breathed, doing her best to fight back the happy tears that were stinging her eyes.

Jake smiled at his girlfriend warmly before pulling her in and kissing her deeply. She responded immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck, and getting lost in the kiss. "Hey, do you want to take this into the bedroom?" Addison breathed, offering Jake a tempting smile.

"Yeah," Jake nodded, meeting her eyes, and smiling warmly. "I'd like that."

xxxxx

"Hey," Charlotte said, lightly tapping on Amelia's office door. "Do you have a minute?"

Amelia looked up from her paperwork and nodded. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Charlotte said, offering Amelia a weak smile, before sitting down in the chair across from her.

"What's up, Charlotte?"

Charlotte sighed. "I need advice."

"Okay," Amelia said. "What kind of advice."

"I need advice," Charlotte repeated. "You're the strongest woman I know, and I need advice."

Amelia nodded mutely, and waited for her friend to continue.

"The twins…both babies have IUGR. Chromosomally, they're fine, and neither baby is showing any signs of infection. But IUGR is serious, and Addison and Jake…they, uh, they mentioned the option of having a selective abortion, so that one of the babies could have a better shot of developing normally and going on to live a healthy life...you know without health serious health problems or complications. But I…I don't know what to do."

Amelia felt tears prick her eyes, being able to relate all too well to how Charlotte was feeling. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, and tried to say something comforting, but she found herself unable to form words. She had figured that there had been enough tragedies at the practice; she hadn't even entertained the possibility of anything being wrong with Charlotte and Cooper's twins. Still, she knew she had to say something; 'I'm sorry' was the first thing that sprung to her mind, but she thought better of it, remembering how much she had hated it when people had said those two words to her. "I, uh, I don't know what to say," Amelia confessed, her voice thick with emotion.

"There's not much you can say," Charlotte admitted. "The situation sucks."

"Yeah," Amelia agreed. "It does. So, uh, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Charlotte sighed. "The doctor in me sees the benefits of going through with a selective abortion. But then there's that other part…the part that can't imagine going through with it. I just, how'd you do it? I mean, Addison said that there's a chance that everything could end up okay, but just knowing that everything might not be okay…that keeps me up at night. I feel like I can't breathe. I just, how did you manage to survive a pregnancy, knowing that there was nothing that could be done for your baby once he was born? I don't think I could do it," Charlotte admitted. "And I might have to."

"Hey, just because I got through it doesn't mean I got through it well," Amelia said softly. "I'm still getting through it…even now. But you…I don't know, I think you're going to be okay. I think both babies are going to be okay."

"And what makes you think that?"

"I don't know," Amelia admitted. "I just…I have a feeling."

"You're supposed to be a woman of science," Charlotte reminded her friend.

"And I am," Amelia nodded. "But I'm also a brain surgeon, whose son was born without a brain…if that's not a sick twist of fate, I don't know what is. So I've got to think…I've got to hope that you get luckier…that things are better for you and Cooper."

"You know, I don't get it. I don't get how, after everything you've been through, you still have hope left for me. And Cooper too. He's the most hopeful person I've ever met. After everything that we've been told about IUGR, and after all of the bleak statistics that we've read, he's still optimistic. Hell, he's picking out middle names for the babies."

"You and Cooper chose names?" Amelia asked, hoping to bring the conversation to a less dark place.

"Just first names," Charlotte nodded. "I don't want to pick out middle names until we decide what we're gonna do."

"Oh," Amelia said quietly. "So, uh, what first names did you chose?"

A slight smile came to Charlotte's lips. "Clara and Alexander."

"Those are nice names," Amelia complimented.

"Yeah," Charlotte sighed, as she blinked back the tears that were threatening to escape her eyes.

Amelia felt a dull pain in her chest, as she watched her friend struggle to hold it together. She had to do something for Charlotte. "You know," she began gently, "I can't make any promises about Alexander and Clara, but here's what I see. I think they're both going to be fine. They're gonna be strong kids, Charlotte. You're their mother. It's in their genes. And Alex, he's gonna look just like Cooper. And he'll have Cooper's easy-going temperament too. He'll look out for his sister…not that she'll need it, because Clara's going to be just like you, so she'll be able to look out for herself. And Alex is going to be best friends with Henry and Lucas…until they all become teenagers. That's when all hell's gonna break loose, because, suddenly, Henry and Lucas will be less interested in hanging out with Alex, and much more interested in hanging out with his sister. And Alex will get all protective brother on them, swearing to hurt them if they even so much as think about hurting his sister. But he'll be an easy-going kid, and I think a part of him will find it funny to watch Henry and Lucas fight over Clara…because, believe me, they're gonna fight over her. And I'm not sure who's going to win yet. And, who knows, maybe she won't date either of them…but, I don't know, I think she'll date at least one of them. And it's all going to be very bittersweet for me, because as much as I'm going to love watching Clara torment Henry and Lucas, a part of me won't be able to help but think that if my son had lived, there wouldn't be anything for Henry and Lucas to fight about. Because Henry and Lucas wouldn't stand a chance against him."

"It's a nice picture," Charlotte choked out, swallowing hard.

"It is," Amelia agreed.

Charlotte looked up and met her friend's eyes. "I don't know what to do."

"Yes, you do," Amelia said softly.

Charlotte nodded, and let out a heavy sigh. "Yes, I do."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I hope people are still interested in this story. I don't know about you, but I was shocked by the season premiere – I definitely wasn't expecting Addison to choose Jake and wasn't expecting to see a Charlotte/Cooper baby storyline – though I do worry for both Addison and Jake's relationship and Charlotte and Cooper's triplets. This show (and Grey's) doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to Addison's love life and uncomplicated pregnancies. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and thanks so much for reading!

* * *

"So, I was thinking," Addison began, as she joined Jake in bed. "You're almost always here, and I like that. And Henry likes that. So, I guess, I guess I was wondering…do you want to move in with me?"

A wide smile spread across Jake's face. "You know, traditionally, it's the man who asks the woman that question."

"And, traditionally, it's the woman who moves in with the man," Addison chuckled. "But I'm telling that I love you and I'm asking you to move in with me, so are we going to sit here and talk about traditional social customs, or are you going to give me an answer?"

"Of course I'll move in with you," Jake grinned, as he leaned in and kissed his girlfriend softly – a kiss, which Addison immediately deepened.

"Thank you for saying yes," Addison whispered when they broke apart.

"Thank you for asking," Jake smiled, gently caressing Addison's cheek with his hand.

"So, uh, I was wondering, do you know if Angela has plans this weekend?" Addison asked.

"I don't," Jake admitted. "But I could call her and find out. Why?"

"I want her to have a room here too," Addison explained. "And I thought that maybe she and I could go shopping for things for her room this weekend."

A small smile played on Jake's lips. "Addison, you don't have to do that."

"I know," Addison nodded. "But I want to. So, you'll call her?"

"I will," Jake promised. "Thank you, Addison."

"You know, there are other ways to show me how appreciative you are," Addison said, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Jake smiled before kissing her passionately. "Well, then" he whispered huskily, "Let me show you just how appreciative I am."

xxxxx

"Addison's late," Cooper frowned, checking his watch. He and Charlotte were meeting with Addison for another ultrasound and to discuss whether or not they wanted to go through with the selective abortion. He had tried to have this discussion with Charlotte several times over the past week, but she seemed distant, and he was having trouble reading her emotions.

"Where the hell is she?" Cooper complained. "She was supposed to be here five minutes ago. I swear, if she and Jake are in her office having sex at a time like-"

"I pushed back the appointment," Charlotte interrupted. "Addison won't be here for another twenty minutes."

"Wait, why'd you do that?" Cooper asked in confusion.

"We need to talk," Charlotte began. "About selective abortion."

"Uh, okay," Cooper said nervously.

"I know I've been kinda distant and pessimistic lately," Charlotte admitted, "but this type of situation isn't something I'm used to."

"It's a first for me too," Cooper said.

"I know," Charlotte agreed. "But I'm used to being in control. I'm good at fixin' problems…other people's and my own. And I don't know how to fix this. I don't know if I can fix this…so this is new for me."

"Yeah," Cooper nodded, as he moved closer to Charlotte and began rubbing her back reassuringly. "I get that."

"I don't want to have a selective abortion," Charlotte confessed. "Call me an optimistic fool, but I want to believe that our babies are gonna be alright. Addison's the best there is, and I'll do everything she tells me to do. And I know that doesn't guarantee anything…but I don't know, I feel okay with this decision…even though I understand that things might not turn out okay."

"They will," Cooper said reassuringly.

"And if they don't," Charlotte continued, meeting her husband's eyes, "I'm prepared to deal with that. You and I can handle that. So I feel good about this decision. I know it's what you want, and it's what I want as well. I just, I needed some time to think the whole situation through."

Cooper leaned in and kissed his wife softly. "I'm comfortable with that decision too," he agreed.

Charlotte smiled against her husband's lips before kissing him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in closer, both of them losing themselves in the kiss.

"Now this is what got you here in the first place," Addison teased, as she walked into the exam room.

"Addison, you're early," Cooper accused; he wanted to go back to making out with his wife.

"I'm two minutes early," Addison chuckled, glancing at her watch. "Anyway…" she trailed off, waiting for Charlotte or Cooper to say something.

"We talked it over," Charlotte began, "and I want to try to carry both twins to term. We know the risks, but we're comfortable with that decision."

Addison gave her friends a warm smile. "Okay, then, let's start the ultrasound."

Charlotte nodded, and Addison began the ultrasound. "They're still smaller than they should be," Addison muttered, as she watched the screen closely. "Are you following that high protein diet I put you on and drinking lots of fluids?" she asked Charlotte.

Charlotte nodded. "I am."

"Hmm…I think bed rest is probably the safest bet," Addison said.

"You can't do that," Charlotte insisted. "I have a hospital to run."

"Charlotte," Addison said gently. "You and I are on the same team. We both want to give the babies the best chance possible. And, as your doctor, I'm recommending bed rest."

"What am I supposed to do on bed rest?" Charlotte demanded.

"Uh, well, you could read, watch TV, sleep…" Addison trailed off, noticing that her colleague did not seem intrigued by any of these options.

"You'll figure something out," Cooper said reassuringly, and Charlotte rewarded both him and Addison with one of her patented 'you have got to be kidding me,' glares.

"So, when does the enforced bed rest start?" Charlotte asked.

"Uh, now," Addison answered bluntly.

"No, we need to put it off," Charlotte insisted. "Cooper and I are going house hunting this weekend."

"That sounds like the opposite of bed rest," Addison pointed out.

"You don't have to come," Cooper offered. "I could go house hunting."

"Not alone," Charlotte insisted.

"Fine, I'll bring Sheldon to help me."

"You'll bring Addison," Charlotte corrected.

"Wait, what?" Addison asked in confusion.

"You're going," Charlotte told Addison bluntly. "If me being on bed rest isn't up for debate, you going house hunting with Cooper isn't up for debate either. Does this Saturday work for you?"

"I, uh, yeah, I think it works," Addison stammered.

"Good," Charlotte nodded. "And you'll video chat me in so I can see everything."

"Sounds perfect," Cooper grinned. He turned to Addison. "I'll pick you up at noon, okay?"

Addison sighed, and shook her head in amusement. "Sounds perfect."

xxxxx

"Hey," Sheldon smiled, knocking on the door to Amelia's office, "I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch or something. I'm kind of in the mood for Chinese."

"Thanks," Amelia said, "but I think I'm gonna pass. Chinese food in the middle of the day makes me feel kind of gross."

"Well, we don't have to go for Chinese," Sheldon offered. "How about pizza or sandwiches? I'm up for anything, really."

"I'm actually not that hungry," Amelia said, turning her attention back to the paperwork on her desk.

"Oh, okay, yeah. I should, I should probably try to get some work done today during lunch anyway. Maybe some other time?"

"Maybe," Amelia said indifferently. "I'm really busy, Sheldon."

"Right, yeah, sorry. I'll, uh, I'll leave you alone."

"Thanks," Amelia nodded before returning to her paperwork.

She hadn't been working very long, when a knock on the door interrupted her. She looked up and saw Jake standing in the doorway. "Okay, why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"Like what?" Jake chuckled.

"Like we're about to have a serious talk," Amelia explained. "Is it Addison? Are things not going well in that department?"

"What? No. Things are fine with Addison. Things are amazing with Addison."

"Oh. Then why are you giving me that look?"

"Why did Sheldon walk out of your office looking like you just killed his cat?"

"Jake, I think you're exaggerating," Amelia insisted.

"I know about you two," Jake said, sitting down across from Amelia. "I know about your arrangement."

"What?" Amelia asked in surprise. "Sheldon told you that we were having sex?"

"Uh, no, no, he didn't," Jake confessed, a look of shock on his face. "Sheldon said that you were sleeping together…_just_ _sleeping _together, like in the most literal sense possible. He didn't say anything about sex."

"Well, it doesn't matter because it's not happening anymore," Amelia sighed.

"You ended things?" Jake asked.

Amelia shook her head. "He did."

"And you miss him," Jake assessed.

"I do," Amelia nodded. "I mean, you wouldn't expect it, but Sheldon's pretty damn good in bed. I mean, just ask Char-."

"You know, I think I just found out more about Sheldon than I'd ever care to know," Jake admitted uncomfortably. "So how are you holding up?" he asked, his voice softening.

"Pretty terribly," Amelia confessed. "I mean, I can't even go to lunch with him because I don't know how to just be friends with him anymore."

"You should try," Jake said quietly.

"I know," Amelia sighed. "I just-"

"Sheldon's one of the good ones," Jake cut in. "He's worth keeping around. He's worth fighting for."

"As what?" Amelia asked. "A friend? A colleague? A boyfriend? Do you think he's the real deal?"

Jake gave her a warm smile. "I think you know the answer to that."

xxxxx

"Sheldon," Addison smiled, as she stepped into the elevator. "I feel like it's been a while since we last caught up with each other. How are things with you?"

"I need your advice," Sheldon said, pushing the stop button in the elevator.

"Uh, okay," Addison stammered.

"I messed things up with Amelia," Sheldon confessed.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Addison asked in confusion.

"I told her we had to stop having sex because I just wanted to be friends."

"You and Amelia were having sex?" Addison asked in surprise. "She would have told me."

"We were keeping it quiet," Sheldon explained. "We didn't think anyone around here would understand. Plus, with the way that gossip spreads around this place...Anyway, we didn't tell anyone."

"So, wait, how long has this been going on? When did this start?"

"It's not like I know the exact date," Sheldon shrugged. "I don't know; it just sort of happened. One minute we were just sleeping together…in the most literal sense…and the next we were actually sleeping together. It's been happening for a couple of months."

"But now it's not happening?" Addison asked.

"Right," Sheldon nodded. "And I miss it."

"Well, that's to be expected," Addison smirked.

"But I don't just miss the sex," Sheldon insisted. "I mean, I miss the sex. But I miss her too."

"Have you talked to her about it?" Addison asked.

"I can't. I was the one who said we had to stop having sex."

"And you could be the one to admit you were wrong," Addison pointed out.

Sheldon sighed. "But I don't know if I'm wrong. She just sees me as sex, and I don't see her that way. And if we continue to go down that path, I'm going to get hurt. And I'm going to lose her as a friend, and I don't want that. I don't know…could you talk to her?"

"Are you sure you want me to get involved in your sex life?" Addison asked in confusion.

"Well, not necessarily involved," Sheldon backpedaled. "But you two are like sisters. I know she'd talk to you."

"I mean, I guess I could say something to her," Addison shrugged. "But I'm not gonna force it. She knows me too well, and she'll know you put me up to it."

"Okay," Sheldon agreed. "Hey, Addison?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I'm being stupid? I mean, on paper, Amelia and I make no sense. But when I'm with her, all that goes out the window. When I'm with her it doesn't matter that she's a lot younger than I am, or that she's probably still in love with Ryan. When I'm with her, all of that seems to fade into the background. Am I being irrational? Should I just walk away?"

"I don't think you're being stupid," Addison said. "You know, ever since my mother died, I've become a big proponent of going after the things that you want, and you clearly love Amelia."

"I never said-"

"I know," Addison smiled. "You didn't have to."

xxxxx

"I like this house," Addison approved, as she and Cooper walked into the living room of one of the houses that Charlotte and Cooper's realtor had suggested. "This is definitely my favorite by far."

Cooper nodded. "I like it too. What do you think Charlotte?" he asked his wife, moving his phone around the room so that Charlotte could see it.

"I think it looks nice," Charlotte commented, "but it's hard for me to tell. Addison, what are the selling points of this room?"

"Okay," Addison nodded. "Lots of space. Great fire place…very romantic."

"I'm gonna have three kids," Charlotte commented. "Romance is gonna go out the window. What else you got?"

"Great view," Addison smiled, drawing back the curtains so that Charlotte could check out the view for herself.

"Okay," Charlotte approved. "Let's check out some more rooms."

"Okay," Cooper agreed, as he and Addison made their way through the rest of the house.

"Whoa, you've got to see this tub!" Cooper exclaimed, as he pushed open the door to the bathroom adjoining the master bedroom. "It's huge. I mean, you could live in here."

"Cooper, we're not buying a house just because you like the tub," Charlotte scolded.

"Hey, I like the whole house," Cooper defended. "I'm just saying this tub's a nice perk."

"It is nice," Addison admitted.

"See," Cooper smiled smugly. "So what do you think?"

"About the tub?" Charlotte asked irritably.

"No, about the house," Cooper chuckled.

"Oh, uh, I like it," Charlotte nodded. "I think this house is the one."

"I do too," Cooper smiled.

xxxxx

"Hey, what do you think of this bedding?" Addison asked, as she gestured towards an elegant purple, black, and white comforter set.

"I like it," Angela smiled.

"Do you really like it?" Addison asked. "Or are just saying you like it because I suggested it, and you don't want to make me feel bad?"

"I really like it," Angela laughed. "How could I not. You have incredible taste…in everything."

"I'm not sure how true that is," Addison chuckled. "But I do like this bedding."

"I do too," Angela agreed.

"So, will you let me buy it for you?" Addison asked.

"Oh, you don't have to do that. Jake gave me money to go shopping," Angela said, reaching for her purse.

But Addison was vehemently shaking her head. "Please let me buy this for you. I want to."

"Are you sure?" Angela asked.

"Definitely," Addison nodded.

"Okay," Angela agreed. "Thank you, Addison. But lunch is on me then."

"Okay," Addison laughed. "That sounds fair."

"You know, I never had someone to go shopping like this when I was growing up," Angela began. "This is really nice."

Addison gave her a warm smile. "It is," she agreed. "You know," she began, "I love to shop, so if you ever find yourself in the mood to do some shopping and in need of a shopping partner, you should call me."

"Really?" Angela asked in surprise.

"Of course," Addison nodded, as she handed the cashier her credit card to pay for Angela's bedding. "I mean, I'm sure you have girlfriends who you probably go shopping with, but I'm always an option as well."

"You know," Angela began, "I might just take you up on your offer."

Addison smiled widely. "I hope you do."

xxxxx

After dropping Angela back off at school, Addison returned home. As she walked through the front door, she could hear Jake's voice coming from the living room.

"Now I need you to listen to me, Henry," she heard Jake tell her son, "because this is very important." Addison sneakily made her way towards the living room, eager to hear what type of important knowledge Jake was about to impart to Henry.

"Your first word has to be Mama," Jake explained. "That's really important. Your mom loves you so much, and it would make her so happy. After that, feel free to say whatever you want. But mama needs to be your first word. I mean, I guess I'd be pretty thrilled if Jake was your second word, but no pressure, Little Man. You just work on saying mama, okay?"

"Do you always say and do perfect things?" Addison teased, as she joined them in the living room. "Or do you save them up and whip them out whenever you're around me or when you hear me coming?"

"I didn't know you were here," Jake grinned, meeting Addison's eyes. "And I could say the same thing to you."

Addison looked at him in confusion.

"Angela texted me a little while ago," Jake explained, gesturing to his phone. "She said she had a really great time with you today."

"I had a nice time too," Addison smiled, as she took Henry from her boyfriend. "You did a really good job raising her."

"Well, she's a big fan of yours," Jake grinned. "I guess she takes after me in that respect. Thank you again for going shopping with her today."

"You know, it's exactly how I imagined it," Addison reflected.

"Um, I'm not sure I'm following," Jake admitted.

Addison bit her lip, weighing her words carefully. "I always thought I'd have a daughter," she confessed. "Don't get me wrong, Henry's amazing. He's better than amazing. It's just, whenever I used to imagine myself having a child, I always imagined having a girl. I don't know why. I guess I kind of figured that I'd be able to handle a girl…you know, hair, make-up, shopping…all the things I'm good at." She met her boyfriend's eyes and sighed. "I know this is stupid, but sometimes I worry…that I'm not going to be enough for Henry…you know, because I-"

"Addison, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Jake interrupted. "You're an amazing mother to Henry. It's so obvious that he loves you so much."

"No, I know that," Addison agreed. "It's just, I worry that when he gets older…I worry that I'm not going to be enough."

"Impossible," Jake disagreed.

"Come on, Jake," Addison reasoned. "I hate dirt and bugs and nature. I can't even read the sports section of the newspaper without falling asleep."

"Doesn't matter," Jake insisted. "Addison, you love Henry more than anything. You would do absolutely anything for him. And he loves you more than anything. And that's not going to change. He's not going to care if you hate dirt or don't know the difference between a touchdown and a homerun. You're his mother…and you're always going to be enough."

Addison met her boyfriend's eyes. "You're doing it again," she smiled.

"Doing what?" Jake asked in confusion.

"Saying perfect things," Addison chuckled.

Jake shook his head. "That's just the truth. You've got to trust me on that."

Addison looked at him skeptically.

"Lily died when Angela was eleven," Jake said quietly. "And, after that, I pretty much raised Angela by myself. And, to this day, I can't make a ponytail to save my life. But Angela doesn't care. She never cared. I was there for her whenever she needed me, and that's what our relationship is all about. That's what matters. That's what's important. And I, I know it's going to be like that for you and Henry. It already is." He paused for a moment and met her eyes. "Although, I don't see you raising Henry alone," he smiled.

"Really?" Addison breathed.

Jake nodded. "I told you that when I go in, I go all in. I'm all in, Addison. Just like you."

"I never said-"

"You didn't have to," Jake grinned. "You spent the day shopping with my daughter for new bedding for her new room, because it was important to you that she had a room in your house."

"Our house," Addison corrected.

Jake looked at his girlfriend adoringly. "See," he chuckled. "Things like that…small things like that are exactly why you didn't need to say anything."

xxxxx

Sheldon was just about to cook dinner when he heard a knock at the door, and quickly made his way out of the kitchen to answer it. He opened the door and swallowed hard when he saw Amelia standing there in front of him.

"Amelia, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I, uh, I owe you lunch," Amelia explained.

"What?" Sheldon asked in confusion.

"The other day, you invited me to lunch, and I turned you down. And I know that it's technically dinner time, but I owe you lunch, so I brought lunch," she said, gesturing to the takeout in her hands. "I didn't know if you wanted Chinese or pizza or sandwiches, so I-I got all of them."

"Amelia," Sheldon smiled, taking the pizza box from her hand, "you didn't have to do this."

"I know," Amelia nodded. "But I wanted to."

"Well there's something to be said about going after the things you want," Sheldon agreed, remembering Addison's words from their elevator therapy session.

"I'm glad you think so," Amelia nodded. "Because there's something else I want. And I'm pretty sure you want it too."

Sheldon swallowed hard. "What's that?" he asked.

He barely had time to get the words out before Amelia crashed her lips up against his. He responded immediately, dropping the pizza box in his hands to the floor, and wrapping his arms around her waist, drawing her in close, as they kissed heatedly.

"I want this," Amelia breathed when they broke apart. "I want this."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thank you so much for all of your kind feedback on this story so far. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this, but here's the next chapter – hopefully it was worth the wait. :) I hope you like this chapter, and thank you so much for reading!

* * *

A few months had passed. Charlotte was now seven months pregnant, and was hating every minute of her enforced bed rest. She, Cooper, and Mason had moved into their new house and, thanks to on-line shopping, it was coming together nicely.

She craned her neck to look at the clock on her nightstand, and sighed. It was only noon; the day was dragging. She should have been used to it – she quickly learned that days tend to drag by when you can't go to work or even leave your bed, for that matter – but, still, she wasn't used to it.

A slight smile graced her features when she heard the front door unlock. Pete was early for their daily 'lunch date.'

"Hey," Pete smiled, as he entered the room. "How're you feeling?"

"Bored," Charlotte answered flatly.

"Well, that's about to end," Pete grinned, handing her a patient's file. "I was hoping you could take a look at this for me, and let me know what you think."

"You really are the best work husband ever," Charlotte smiled, as she eagerly opened the file.

"I also brought lunch," Pete chuckled, as he placed two sandwiches and two cups of tea in front of him and Charlotte.

"Thanks," Charlotte nodded as she read through the patient's file.

"You're welcome," Pete smiled, happy to see some life in Charlotte's eyes. "You know, I can't wait until you can drink coffee again," Pete muttered taking a sip of his tea. "This stuff's pretty terrible."

"Aren't you supposed to be into all that herbal crap," Charlotte shot back good-naturedly.

"I am," Pete conceded. "But the hospital's generic-brand decaf tea is doing nothing for me."

"Yeah, me either," Charlotte agreed. "At least you can have coffee when you get back to the hospital. That's not exactly an option for me."

"Yeah," Pete chuckled. "But I'm telling you, once Alexander and Clara get here, it'll all be worth it."

"I hope so," Charlotte nodded, looking up from the file in her hands and meeting Pete's eyes.

"So, uh, do you want to talk about this case?" Pete asked, gesturing to the file in Charlotte's hands.

"I'm scared," Charlotte admitted vulnerably.

Pete nodded mutely and waited for her to continue.

"I'm scared, and I can't afford to be scared," Charlotte sighed. "The nursery is just about finished. The twins have enough clothes to rival Addison's wardrobe. Everything's all set for them…and they might not make it. It might all be for nothing."

"Charlotte, you can't think like that," Pete insisted. "You're doing everything that Addison told you to do. And you and I both know that Addison wouldn't encourage you to keep fighting if she didn't think there was a chance. And there's a chance. There's a good chance that the babies are going to be perfectly fine."

"You sound like Cooper," Charlotte sighed. "And I know you're right. It' just…if something does go wrong, how are we gonna get through it?"

"The same way you two have gotten through everything else that life's thrown at you," Pete answered simply. "You'll get through it together."

xxxxx

"So, I was wondering if you'd go shopping with me tomorrow, after work, to get things for Henry's birthday party, this weekend," Addison said, as she and Jake lay in bed together.

"Tomorrow?" Jake asked hesitantly.

Addison nodded. "Are you busy?"

"Actually, I am," Jake admitted. "Tomorrow's Angela's twenty-first birthday. I was going to take her for dinner…you know, before she does whatever she's going to do with her friends."

Addison smiled. "You didn't tell me Angela was turning twenty-one tomorrow," she accused.

Jake smiled guiltily. "Sorry," he apologized. "I guess I still haven't wrapped my head around the idea that she's going to be old enough to drink legally," he admitted.

Addison smiled at how overprotective her boyfriend was when it came to his daughter. "Well, she's coming to Henry's birthday party this weekend, right?" Addison asked.

"She said she'd be there," Jake nodded.

"We should get her a cake too," Addison smiled.

"Addison."

"We should," Addison insisted. "It's kind of sweet that our kids' birthdays are so close together…and they're both celebrating important birthdays this year."

"Yeah," Jake agreed with a smile. "So, uh, we could go shopping for things for Henry's party the day after tomorrow," he offered.

"Okay," Addison agreed. "Charlotte has an appointment with me, that afternoon, but we can go right after that."

"Perfect," Jake grinned.

"Yeah," Addison smiled, kissing him softly, "you kind of are."

"Addison," Jake breathed in between kisses. "You know that-"

But Addison cut him off with a deep kiss. "Just take the compliment, Jake."

Jake smiled against her lips, and kissed her passionately, gently caressing her cheek, while she ran her fingers through his hair. She was in the middle of slipping off his t-shirt, when the doorbell rang and brought them back to reality.

Addison looked at the clock on the nightstand and frowned. "Who in the world would be stopping by this late at night?"

"I don't know," Jake admitted, straightening his t-shirt, before placing a hand on the small of Addison's back, as they made their way to the door.

"Archer," Addison said in surprise, as she opened the front door of her house. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"My nephew's turning one," Archer answered with a grin. "How could I not be at his first birthday party?"

"It's not until this weekend," Addison pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I thought I'd spend the week," Archer shrugged. "You know, get to know my nephew, and fulfill my older brother role. Speaking of which," he said, extending a hand to Jake, "you must be Jake."

"Nice to meet you," Jake nodded.

"You really should have told me you were coming, Archer," Addison muttered.

"But where's the fun in that?" Archer chuckled. "So, why don't we all have a drink, and I can get to know Jake a little better."

"Um, actually, Jake and I were just about to go to bed," Addison cut in, desperate to help Jake avoid Archer's intense scrutiny or, at the very least, delay it.

"Just one drink," Archer reasoned. He turned to his sister; "You do have alcohol in the house, don't you?" he asked. "Oh, wait, who am I kidding, you're a Montgomery. Of course you have alcohol."

Addison looked at her boyfriend apologetically. "I'm sorry about this."

"Don't be," Jake insisted. "I have three younger sisters. I used to be the same way."

"Yeah, but then you grew up, and let them live their own lives," Addison smirked.

"Did you say you have three sisters?" Archer asked Jake curiously.

"I do," Jake nodded.

"Hmm…that's a little too much like Derek for my taste," Archer admitted. "And I never liked Derek, but Addie did, so no loss or gain on that one."

"Archer," Addison scolded; her brother's shamelessness never failed to surprise her. "I hate to point out the obvious, but Derek did save your life."

"That doesn't mean I have to like him," Archer insisted. He turned to Jake; "So, you didn't go to medical school with us," he noted, as Addison poured everyone a glass of scotch. "That's good. Addison seems to like dating men she went to med. school with. I'm glad she's moving past that."

"Archer, you've met past boyfriends of mine that didn't go to med. school with us," Addison pointed out irritably.

"Yeah, but he was a cop," Archer shrugged. "That didn't really count." He turned to Jake. "You're not a cop, are you?"

"No," Jake chuckled, as Addison groaned at Archer's elitism. "I'm a doctor," Jake smiled.

"Psychiatrist?" Archer asked hesitantly.

"Fertility specialist," Jake answered. "I work at the practice with Addison."

"Oh," Archer nodded.

"We should probably get to bed," Addison said. "It's late."

"But I haven't finished my-"

"Are you staying at a hotel, Archer?" Addison interrupted her brother. "Or were you planning on staying here?"

"Well, I'll stay here if you'll have me," Archer grinned.

"I'll go make up a guestroom," Addison nodded.

"Do you need help?" Jake asked.

"Stay and chat with me," Archer insisted.

Jake looked at Addison questioningly.

"It'll take me two seconds to get the guestroom ready," Addison told her boyfriend. "You should stay."

"Okay," Jake nodded, as he watched his girlfriend's retreating form.

"You really like her, don't you?" Archer said after a moment.

"Yeah," Jake smiled. "I really do."

"You seem like a good guy," Archer observed.

Jake shrugged. "I like to think I am."

"Good." Archer nodded. "Just…don't hurt her, okay? She's been hurt enough for one lifetime."

"Yeah," Jake agreed. "She has." He met Archer's eyes and smiled. "Look, I can't promise that I'll never hurt her. That's unrealistic. But I can promise never to hurt her on purpose…because, you're right, she's been hurt more times than anyone should, and I...I don't want to hurt her."

Archer smiled at Jake's words. "You know, not that my opinion has ever meant anything to Addison in the past…but…I like you, Jake. You clearly care about my sister, and you make her happy. And she deserves happy."

"Yeah," Jake agreed. "Yeah, she does."

xxxxx

"Where the hell is she?" Cooper demanded, looking at his watch impatiently.

"Coop, you've got to calm down," Charlotte scolded. "Addison is five minutes late. In doctor time, that's nothing. You know that."

"You're right. I'm sorry," Cooper apologized. "I'm just…I'm excited to see Alexander and Clara." That was a half-truth. Of course, he was excited to see his babies, but it was always nerve wracking at the same time. The twins had yet to get a clean bill of health from Addison, and that made every ultrasound appointment bittersweet. Over the years, he'd seen a lot of proud-looking soon-to-be-fathers, walking around the practice carrying sonogram pictures of their children, looking happy and excited. He never got that experience with Mason. He had experienced it for a moment with the twins, but it was taken away from him – and he wanted that happy, blissful feeling back.

"Sorry I'm late," Addison apologized, entering the exam room, and interrupting Cooper's thoughts.

"That's okay," Charlotte nodded, giving her husband a teasing smirk. "We didn't even notice."

Addison smiled, and opened Charlotte's file. "So, I'm pretty sure I already know the answers to most of these questions, but for the sake of professionalism…" she trailed off.

"Ask away," Charlotte insisted with an encouraging wave of her hand.

"Okay," Addison nodded. "So, how have you been feeling?"

"Bored out of my mind," Charlotte answered dryly.

"Charlotte," Cooper scolded. "That's not what Addison meant."

"I'm just sayin' being on best rest is about as exciting as watching paint dry," Charlotte shot back.

"So, aside from the extreme boredom," Addison went on, suppressing a chuckle, "how have you been feeling?"

"Okay, actually. They, uh, they've been moving around a lot more."

"Their kicks feel stronger too," Cooper added eagerly. "That could be a good sign, right?"

Addison nodded as she made a note on Charlotte's chart. She looked up at Charlotte. "And you've been sticking to that high protein diet I put you on?"

Charlotte nodded.

"And you've been keeping your fluid intake up?"

"I have," Charlotte sighed. "It has me running to the bathroom every two seconds but, yeah, I've been drinkin' lots of water."

"Good," Addison smiled. "Let's take a look then," she said, squirting some gel onto Charlotte's exposed abdomen.

She immediately found the babies, and studied them closely. "Huh," she said after a second.

"Huh?" Cooper asked nervously. "What does 'huh,' mean?"

"I'll be right back," Addison said, making her way towards the door, as Charlotte and Cooper looked at each other worriedly.

"Everything's okay," Addison said, trying to be reassuring, realizing that, for Charlotte and Cooper, this must have felt like a bad case of déjà vu.

She quickly made her way to Jake's office. "Hey," she said, lightly knocking on the door. "Do you have a minute? I need a second opinion."

"Charlotte?" Jake asked knowingly.

Addison nodded.

"Okay, let's go," Jake said, standing up, and taking her hand, as they walked towards Charlotte's exam room together. "So…" Jake trailed off.

"I think you should just see for yourself," Addison said. "I don't want to bias you."

"Okay, what the hell is this all about?" Charlotte demanded when Addison reentered the exam room with Jake. "I hate surprises, and over the past year, I've had enough to last a lifetime, so somebody better start talkin'."

"Okay," Jake nodded, as he picked up the transducer. "Let me just take a look, and then I promise we'll fill you in on everything that's going on." He expertly found the babies, studied them for a moment, and met Addison's eyes. "Oh my God," he breathed.

"What?" Cooper asked nervously. "What do you see?"

Jake nodded at Addison, and Addison gave Charlotte and Cooper a wide smile. "Two perfectly healthy, normal-size babies," she answered, blinking back the tears of happiness that were forming in her eyes.

"Seriously?" Charlotte gasped, moving the screen so that she could get a better look.

"Seriously," Addison nodded. "They look perfect."

"Jake?" Charlotte asked. Sure, she believed Addison, but she wanted all the reassurance she could get.

"They look great," Jake smiled. "The bed rest and the change in diet must have really worked."

"Why don't we give you a couple of minutes alone," Addison suggested, as she and Jake headed towards the door. "Congratulations, you two. Really."

Cooper immediately wrapped his arms around his wife. "I don't think I've ever been so happy," he murmured against her hair.

"Yeah," Charlotte breathed, her mind still reeling from the information that she just received. Their babies were going to be okay. The two little people that she had slowly (but cautiously) grown attached to over the past several months were going to be just fine.

Cooper met Charlotte's eyes and smiled before kissing her stomach gently; and because she was so grateful that their children were healthy, she didn't even give him a hard time about it.

"Hey, guys," Cooper said softly, a ridiculously wide smile on his face. "I know you're not even born yet, but I am so, so proud of you. And I'm so glad that you're both okay. I can't wait to meet you…you little bad-asses."

He looked up and met his wife's eyes to find her, unsurprisingly, glaring at him. "What?" he asked innocently. "They're extremely badass. So are you."

Charlotte wanted to roll her eyes, but she couldn't help smiling at her husband's words. "Yeah," she agreed. "They are pretty badass, aren't they?" She brought a hand to her stomach; "No more scarin' us, okay?" she warned. "And that's not just a limited time offer," she went on. "That means, no broken bones as kids, absolutely no underage drinking, no dating until med. school, and don't even get me started about sex."

"Charlotte," Cooper admonished. Their children weren't even born yet and, already, she was micromanaging. He turned his attention back to their babies. "We can't wait to meet you," he smiled. "You just work on staying safe and healthy. We'll figure out the rest."

xxxxx

"This is a really great party," Amelia complimented, shifting Henry in her arms.

"Thanks," Addison smiled, gently rubbing her son's back.

"I can't believe he's one already," Amelia said, lightly stroking Henry's cheek, and doing her best to keep her voice cheerful. As happy as she was for Addison, she knew that Henry's birthday was going to be bittersweet for her, because Henry was just a couple of months older than her son would have been, had he lived. And although she loved her nephew dearly, he was still a perpetual reminder of what she had lost.

"I really appreciate you being here today," Addison said gently, picking up on Amelia's struggle to keep her composure. "I know today can't be easy on you. But you mean so much to me and to Henry and I...I'm so glad you're here."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Amelia insisted. "You know how much I love Henry…and you," she added with a teasing smirk. "So, uh, I was talking to Jake's daughter," she went on, desperate to change the subject. "She's pretty amazing."

"She really is," Addison agreed, looking across the room, smiling when her eyes landed on Jake and Angela.

"So, you and Jake are pretty serious, huh?" Amelia assessed, following Addison's gaze. "Do I hear wedding bells in the near future?"

"Amelia," Addison scolded.

"Hey, I'm just asking," Amelia defended. She met Addison's eyes; "I'd be your maid of honor, right?" she asked, raising an eyebrow smugly.

"_If_ I were getting married," Addison chuckled, "then, yes, you'd be my maid of honor. It wouldn't even be a question."

Amelia shot Addison an appreciative smile. "Thanks."

"You don't have to thank me," Addison insisted. "You're the closest thing I have to a sister. Amelia, you're my family. You're the clear choice."

Amelia smiled at Addison's words. "And, as your sister," she began with a smirk, "I'm telling you to go hang out with your boyfriend. He clearly wants you to go over to him."

"Okay," Addison agreed, accepting Henry from Amelia and making her way over to where Jake and Angela were standing.

Amelia watched them for a moment, feeling genuinely happy for Addison, when a tap on her arm brought her back to reality.

"How are you holding up?" Sheldon asked her in concern.

"Fine," Amelia nodded.

Sheldon looked at her skeptically.

"Okay, so I'm not exactly fine," she admitted. "But I'm trying to be fine. I'm happy for Addison, and I'm happy that Charlotte and Cooper's twins are going to be okay. I'm happy for them. I just…_I'm_ still working on happy."

"Have I ever told you that you're the strongest person I know?" Sheldon asked.

"Sheldon."

"No, I mean it," Sheldon insisted. "And, not for nothing, but you make me happy."

Amelia met Sheldon's eyes and smiled. "You make me happy too."

xxxxx

"How's Amelia holding up?" Jake asked Addison.

"Okay, I think," Addison answered, shifting Henry in her arms. "I mean, today can't be easy for her."

Jake nodded in understanding. "I'll go check up on her in a little bit…you know, just to make sure."

"Thanks," Addison smiled.

"So the party's a huge success," Jake said brightly, trying to redirect the conversation to something a little more upbeat. "Everyone seems to be having a good time…not always an easy feat at a one-year-old's birthday party."

Addison smiled. "I think that Charlotte and Cooper are still flying high from the good news they received a couple days ago," Addison explained, gesturing to Charlotte and Cooper, who were sitting on the couch together, wide smiles on both of their faces. "This could be the worst party in the world, and they'd still be happy. And I warned Archer to be on his best behavior," Addison added with a smirk.

"Do you think he'll listen?" Jake chuckled.

"Probably not," Addison admitted. "But I absolutely forbade him from trying anything with Angela. Honestly, that's all I care about."

"He wouldn't do that," Jake cut in.

"He would," Addison disagreed. "My entire family tends to sleep with inappropriate people. It's kind of what we do."

"Hey," Jake protested, pretending to be offended.

"I wasn't talking about you," Addison smiled, kissing her boyfriend softly. "You're very appropriate."

Jake smiled against her lips. "Nice save," he murmured, kissing her tenderly.

"And you were worried about me being inappropriate today," Archer smirked, as Addison and Jake broke apart from each other.

Addison rolled her eyes at her brother. "Well, I appreciate you being on your best behavior," she chuckled.

Archer took a sip of his scotch and shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey, I can hit on women and act inappropriately anytime I want, but my nephew only turns one once, so…"

"Thanks, Archer," Addison smiled, as she shifted Henry in her arms.

"Hey, no problem," Archer chuckled, raising his scotch glass in Henry's direction. "Happy first birthday, Henry," he toasted, chuckling when his nephew reached out his tiny hand towards his glass of scotch. "Oh, no, that's not for you, Henry," he laughed. "But I'll tell you what…when you're old enough…or close to old enough, I'll take you for your first scotch. Does that sound like a deal?"

Addison couldn't help smiling at her brother's words. Sure, Archer could be inappropriate, and she had to admit, the thought of him taking Henry to a bar, one day, was a frightening one; but, at the same time, Archer was a good uncle, and he clearly cared about his nephew. She looked from her brother to her boyfriend to her son, and smiled, feeling incredibly lucky to be able to spend this special day with the three most important guys in her life.

* * *

A/N: I really loved the idea of Pete being Charlotte's work husband. I really wish that we had seen more of that on the show, rather than having Charlotte mention it after the fact; so even though Pete's not a big character in this story, I wanted to explore that aspect of Charlotte and Pete's relationship. :)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you so much for your kind feedback on the last chapter and on this story so far! I love hearing what you think! This chapter was pretty difficult to write because the writing on Private Practice has been amazing lately – it's hard to top what's going on, not that I'm complaining about it one bit. I thought that Addison's episode was amazing – it was so beautifully written and acted, and so hard-hitting…maybe my favorite episode of the entire series. And Jake's episode…embarrassing confession: after watching it the first time, I immediately watched it again – I loved it _that_ much. Anyway, I think my love for that episode comes through in this chapter (if you haven't seen the episode yet, you might want to hold off on reading this chapter). Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and, as always, thank you so much for reading!

* * *

"Addison…Jake," Cooper greeted his friends, as they walked through the doors of St. Ambrose.

"Cooper," Addison smiled. "We got here as soon as we could. How's Charlotte?"

"Good, I guess," Cooper nodded. "She's handling the contractions like a champ."

"That's unsurprising," Jake chuckled.

"I'm glad you guys are here though," Cooper said. "It might just be in my head, but I feel like all of the other doctors and nurses are keeping their distance. It's like…they keep passing Charlotte's room, but they never go in. It's like they're afraid or something."

"Well, doctors make the worst patients," Addison pointed out with a laugh. "And Charlotte's chief of staff. That puts her on a completely different playing field. Plus, she's Charlotte…and she kind of likes to be in control all the time."

"And she means that in the very best sense," Jake added quickly.

"Hey, I'm married to her," Cooper chuckled. "I find it endearing."

"So, uh, I'm going to go check on Charlotte," Addison said. "Why don't you two wait out here?"

"Okay," Jake and Cooper agreed, watching Addison's retreating form.

"So," Cooper began, turning to Jake, "am I being crazy, or is it possible that the other doctors and nurses are actually afraid of Charlotte?"

Jake shrugged. "It's possible. When I first started working here, I was a little scared of her. Her bark is worse than her bite, though. But I'm sure you know that better than anyone."

Cooper couldn't help smiling at Jake's description of his wife; it was spot on.

"So," Jake smiled, "how are you holding up?"

"I'm okay," Cooper breathed. "I mean, yeah, I'm scared. The twins are a few weeks early, but it's normal for twins to be early, right?"

"Right," Jake nodded. "And they're not dangerously early," Jake reassured him

"Right," Cooper agreed. "It's just, it was a complicated pregnancy, and I just…I want everything to be alright."

"It will be," Jake smiled, patting Cooper's shoulder.

"You know, I missed all this with Mason," Cooper continued. "So, I don't know what to expect. And, sure, I've read all the books that tell you what it's like to be in the delivery room, or what it's like the first time you see your child…but I don't know…I still don't feel prepared."

"Nobody ever does," Jake chuckled.

"But you've been in your fair share of delivery rooms…" Cooper trailed off, looking at Jake questioningly.

"I have," Jake admitted. "But as a doctor. I could tell you what it's like from a medical perspective. But I don't think you want that."

Cooper shook his head.

"Well," Jake said, offering Cooper a genuine smile, "I guess you'll have to tell me what it's like from a non-medical perspective."

"Yeah," Cooper breathed, as a smile spread across his face. "I guess I will."

xxxxx

"They're perfect," Cooper smiled, several hours later, as he held a twin in each arm. "I'm already so in love with them."

"They are pretty amazing," Charlotte agreed. "I, uh, I can't believe how much I love them."

"You did great," Cooper complimented, as he handed Clara over to his wife.

"We did great," Charlotte corrected, gently stroking their daughter's cheek.

Cooper couldn't help smiling, as he watched his wife with their daughter. Despite Charlotte's vehement insistences that she never wanted children, motherhood was a good look for her. It had been for a while. She proved that she was great with Mason, and there was no doubt in his mind that she would be incredible with the twins.

"Hey, she looks like you," Cooper noted, as he looked at their daughter adoringly.

"And he looks exactly like you," Charlotte smiled, gesturing towards their son.

"He does, doesn't he?" Cooper said proudly.

Charlotte gave her husband a teasing smile. "Not that fidelity was ever even a question, but, yeah, there's no doubt about it, he's definitely your son."

Cooper was about to respond, when a light tapping at the door made him and Charlotte look up.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," Addison apologized, as she and Jake lingered in the doorway. "But I just got off the phone with Violet. Mason and everybody else are on their way down here to meet the twins. I just figured I'd give you guys a heads up."

"Thanks," Cooper smiled. "Hey, you two haven't met them yet. Well, I guess you technically did because you delivered them, but still…this is Alexander James," he said, gently placing his son in Addison's arms. "And Charlotte's got Clara Adrianne."

"Adrianne?" Addison said raising her eyebrow. "Hey, that's funny; my middle name is actually-"

"We know what you're middle name is, Addison," Charlotte cut in. "Clara's middle name isn't a coincidence."

"You mean, you…"

"Yeah," Charlotte nodded.

"But…why?"

"Because you were my doctor. And you were supportive the entire time." Charlotte met Addison's eyes and smiled. "We couldn't have gotten through this without you."

"I, uh," Addison choked out, truly moved by the middle name that Charlotte and Cooper had given to their daughter.

"Oh, don't make this awkward," Charlotte smirked. "You're a world-class neonatal surgeon. I'm sure this isn't the first time you've had parents name their child after you."

"It's not," Addison admitted. "But it's the first time I've ever had friends name their child after me…so, thank you. That means a lot."

"No," Cooper insisted, shaking his head. "Thank you."

Addison smiled at Cooper's words before looking over at Charlotte and smiling at her warmly.

"Uh, it looks like everyone's here," Cooper said, as he grabbed his phone and read Violet's text.

"We can go get them," Jake offered, as Addison handed Alexander back to Cooper.

"I'll go with you," Cooper said, handing his son to Charlotte.

Charlotte watched Cooper, Addison, and Jake exit the hospital room before turning her attention to her babies.

"Hey," she said softly, unable to keep the smile off her face. "You know, I never imagined myself as the mother type. I never saw myself with any kids…let alone, three. But you two are here…and you're healthy and perfect. And I'm so happy. And I, uh, I can't imagine my life any other way."

xxxxx

"They're cute," Addison smiled, as she and Jake lingered in the doorway of Charlotte's hospital room, watching Charlotte, Cooper, Clara, Alexander, and Mason together.

"They are," Jake agreed, a wide smile forming on his face.

"I can't even begin to tell you how relieved I am that Alexander and Clara are okay," Addison confided. "I mean, I know that the tests that we ran said that they were healthy, and everything looked okay on the ultrasounds but, I don't know, given our practice's track record with pregnancies and babies…I was prepared for the worst."

"I know you were," Jake nodded, wrapping his arms around her. "But you never let Charlotte or Cooper see that…and that what makes you such a good doctor."

Addison smiled at her boyfriend's compliment. "It looks like Mason is happy about his new brother and sister," she noted, as she gestured towards Mason, who was sitting next to Charlotte on the hospital bed, a look of fascination on his face as he watched Clara and Alexander.

Jake nodded, as he continued to watch the family of five silently. "I want that," he said after a moment.

Addison turned and met her boyfriend's eyes.

"I want a family. I want you and me, and Henry and Angela. Hey, Addison," Jake began, smiling at his girlfriend adoringly. "I love you. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life-"

Addison felt her breath hitch in her throat. "I, uh," she cut in before Jake could say anything else. "I have to go," she said, rushing away quickly.

Jake stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, as he watched his girlfriend hurry down the hallway. He called out after her; but she ignored him, and continued to walk down the hallway as fast as she could.

She quickly made her way into Amelia's office, not even bothering to knock on the door.

"Whoa, you okay?" Amelia asked, as she shifted Henry in her arms.

"I don't know," Addison admitted, running a hand through her hair. "I-"

"Do you want to talk about it?" Amelia offered, patting the empty space next to her on the couch, urging Addison to sit down.

Addison sighed and sat down next to Amelia. "Jake was proposing," she said, avoiding Amelia's eyes.

"Like marriage?" Amelia asked.

Addison nodded.

"So, what did you say?" Amelia asked excitedly.

"I cut him off before he could finish. And I may have fled."

"What? Why? Don't you want to marry Jake?"

"I," Addison hesitated. "He doesn't want to marry me."

"Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he just proposing?"

"I know," Addison admitted. "But Jake's an amazing guy. And I have a history."

"Everybody has a past," Amelia reasoned.

"But mine's ugly, messy, and unflattering."

"Addison, Jake knows about your past."

Addison sighed. "I don't want to hurt him. I've hurt enough men, and I've been hurt by enough men. And I-"

"Jake's different," Amelia insisted.

Addison nodded. Amelia wasn't wrong – Jake was different. She had been in love before, but this was different. Jake was supportive, and she loved that about him. And he was kind and brilliant and attentive. And he was amazing with Henry. And she loved him for that. But it wasn't just the big things that made her love him. It was all the little things too. It was the way that he called her sweetheart. And the fact that he drank beer from the bottle. It was the sound of his voice. And the way he smiled at her. He was the love of her life.

And she knew that she was the love of his. She knew that he loved her – the brilliant, the stunning, the bitchy, the crazy. In the morning, in the afternoon, 3 pm.

He loved her, and she ran away. She let her insecurities get the best of her, and ran away before he had a chance to propose.

"Mama," Henry cried out, interrupting Addison's thoughts.

Addison turned to her son and smiled. It wasn't the first time her son had said the word, but it still made her heart swell every time she heard him say it. She eagerly accepted Henry from Amelia and cuddled him close.

"Hey, you know who would make the perfect dada?" Amelia asked smugly. "I'm pretty sure that Henry would agree with me on this one. And you…well, I know you'd be lying if you said the thought hadn't crossed your mind over the past couple of months."

Addison looked from Henry to Amelia. "You're right," she admitted. "I have been thinking about it. Henry's my son and Jake's the love of my life, and we're supposed to be a family."

Amelia gave Addison a warm smile. "You'd have to be blind not to see that."

Addison nodded, and turned her attention back to her son. "Come on, Henry," she smiled. "We're gonna fix this."

xxxxx

"So, you look pretty terrible," Amelia smirked, as Jake joined her in the elevator. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine," Jake lied.

"Dude, that wasn't even convincing," Amelia chuckled.

"Okay, maybe I'm not exactly fine," Jake conceded. "I'm just…confused."

"About?"

Jake sighed. "I was proposing. I wasn't planning on proposing today. I always figured that when I did propose I'd have a ring, and there would be flowers and candles, and I'd be wearing a suit, and we'd be somewhere fantastic. But, today, I didn't have a ring, and there were no flowers or candles in sight, and I was wearing scrubs, and we were in the hospital…but still, I saw Charlotte and Cooper and their family, and it made me…I was proposing."

"And you regret it?" Amelia pressed.

"I never actually got to propose," Jake admitted. "I think Addison sensed what was coming, and she ran. I don't know, too soon, I guess."

"I don't know," Amelia disagreed. "Something tells me it's not too soon."

Jake looked at her suspiciously. "Do you know something?"

"I know lots of things," Amelia chuckled evasively. "You don't become a neurosurgeon by not knowing anything."

"Not what I meant," Jake said shaking his head. "Hey, is it me, or is this the longest elevator ride ever?"

Amelia shrugged. "I pushed the stop button about five minutes ago."

"I guess that explains it," Jake laughed, releasing the stop button. "Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat, but there's something I've got to do."

"Yeah," Amelia smiled, as the elevator doors opened. "I bet there is."

xxxxx

"Sweetheart," Jake called out, as he opened the door to his and Addison's beach house. "Sorry I'm late. I had to pick up something after-"

But he cut himself off, as he looked around the room. There were pineapples all over the place – on every available surface. They were on the coffee table, the end tables, the bookshelf. He made his way into the kitchen, where he found Addison; and, of course, there were more pineapples on the kitchen table.

"Um…hi," he smiled, as he looked around the room quizzically. "So, uh, what's with the pineapples?"

"Can I get you a drink?" Addison offered, purposely avoiding the question.

"Thanks," Jake smiled. "A drink sounds good."

Addison nodded, before reaching into the refrigerator and handing Jake a bottle of water.

"Uh, thanks," Jake stammered, accepting the water. Water wasn't exactly what he had had in mind when she offered him a drink. He looked down at the bottle of water that Addison had handed to him, and realized instantly that it wasn't the brand of water that he and Addison usually bought.

"Fiji water?" he asked with a smile, as things began to click into place. "Pineapples and Fiji," he trailed off.

Addison gave Jake a warm smile. "Pineapples and you getting off that plane to Fiji…those things changed my life."

"They changed my life too," Jake said softly. "You changed my life."

"You started to ask me something earlier," she began. "And I…I was kind of hoping I could pick up where you left off," she said, looping her arms around Jake's neck.

Jake looked at her adoringly before nodding slightly, and Addison felt her heart begin to race.

"I love you," she smiled, looking into his eyes. "And you're the last man I ever want to say that to. Let's get married."

She leaned in to kiss him but, to her surprise, he wasn't leaning in. He was reaching into his pocket and pulling out the most stunning diamond ring she'd ever seen.

And, as she extended her hand, so that he could slip the ring on her finger, a feeling of happiness washed over her. She was proposing. He was proposing. They were proposing.

"Let's get married," Jake smiled, as they held eye contact, before both leaning in and kissing each other deeply.

_Let's get married._ She had only been engaged for a few hours but, as she lay in bed that night, next to Jake, she couldn't help replaying their proposal in her head. It was so truly them – it was all about compromise. _Let's get married._ That phrase said it all. It wasn't the conventional 'Will you marry me?" It was better. _Let's get married_ suggested a sense of unity, a sense of equality – like they were truly in this relationship together. She sighed contently before wrapping her arms around Jake and closing her eyes. And, as she drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help feeling incredibly lucky knowing that she'd be falling asleep like this – next to Jake – for the rest of her life.

* * *

A/N: I couldn't help borrowing (heavily) from the Private Practice proposal. I really loved it. From the mutual "let's get married" to the gorgeous ring (which I hope we get to see up close) to all the great scenes leading up to the proposal, it was probably my all time favorite TV proposal. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and thanks again for reading! :)


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thank you so much for all of your nice feedback on the last chapter and on this story. I love hearing what you think! I really missed Jaddison on Private Practice this week. I get that it was a CharCoop episode, and I liked it, but I was really hoping that there would at least be one scene dealing with Addison and Jake's engagement. Anyway, this chapter has a lot of Jaddison in it. This is also the last chapter of this story, so thank you to everyone who stuck with this fic. I really appreciate it. I hope you like this chapter, and thank you so much for reading my story! It's been fun! :)

* * *

"What was your first wedding like?" Addison asked Jake over breakfast, the next morning.

Jake, who had been feeding Henry, turned his attention away from the little boy, and met his fiancée's eyes. "It was pretty traditional," he admitted. "Why do you ask?"

Addison shrugged. "My first wedding was big and elaborate and traditional," she explained. "I don't know…I think I want something different this time."

"Different?" Jake asked hesitantly. He was more than happy to go along with whatever Addison wanted to do but, at the end of the day, he was still a traditional guy.

"I still want a wedding," Addison smiled, sensing her fiancé's reservations. "Trust me…I'm not talking about doing something completely out of the ordinary…like getting married on a post-it. I-"

"Getting married on a post-it?" Jake cut in. "Do people do that?"

"My ex-husband and his wife did," Addison explained. "It works for them, I guess. But it's not for me."

"It's not for me either," Jake agreed. "So what were you thinking?"

"Something small and intimate," Addison began. "My last wedding was this huge, elaborate event. I want something smaller this time. But not City Hall," she added quickly.

Jake nodded. "I don't want to get married at City Hall either," he agreed. "I mean, I get why people do it, but it's not for me. I don't know, City Hall weddings have always kind of reminded me of a business transaction, and I don't want that…not for us."

Addison smiled. "So, I was thinking we could still have a relatively traditional wedding with just our family and closest friends."

"I like that idea," Jake grinned.

"I don't want bridesmaids," Addison continued. "But I want Amelia to be my maid of honor."

"Which means I need to choose a best man," Jake filled in.

Addison nodded, as she thought about Jake's potential choices. Neither of them really had many close friends outside of work, and even though Jake was close with their coworkers, none of them really struck her as best man material.

"So, who are you going to ask?" she asked her fiancé curiously.

Jake met her eyes and smiled. "Is it okay if I have two best men?"

"Two?" Addison asked in surprise. She was struggling to come with one best man for Jake. And, somehow, he had _two_ best men in mind.

"Sweetheart?" Jake prodded, when Addison met his first question with silence.

"Oh, uh, yeah, two's fine," Addison recovered. "I mean, my maid of honor is my ex-husband's sister. You can definitely have two best men. So, um, who were you planning on asking?"

Jake gave his fiancée a warm smile, before turning his attention back to Henry. "Henry," he cooed to the little boy, "you're one of the most important people in my life, and it would really mean a lot to me if you'd be a co-best man at my wedding."

"Jake," Addison breathed. Just when she thought it was impossible for her to love her fiancé more than she already did, he went and did something like that. "I love you," she smiled, kissing him softly.

"So, is that a yes to Henry being a co-best man?" Jake asked, meeting Addison's eyes.

Addison nodded happily. "And Angela's going to be your other best man?" she assessed knowingly.

"Yeah," Jake smiled. "It was a toss-up between her and Sam."

"Not funny," Addison smirked.

Jake offered Addison a teasing smile, but quickly grew serious. "So that means our wedding party is you, me, Amelia, Henry, and Angela. That sounds pretty good to me," he said after a moment.

"I think it sounds better than pretty good," Addison disagreed, meeting her fiancé's eyes and smiling. "It sounds perfect."

xxxxx

"Hey," Addison smiled, as she knocked on the door to Amelia's office, later that morning. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Amelia nodded, looking away from her computer screen, and meeting Addison's eyes.

"Thanks," Addison smiled, as she sat down across from Amelia. "So," she began, unable to keep the smile off her face. "I wanted you to be the first one to know that Jake and I got engaged last night."

"Congratulations!" Amelia exclaimed, crossing over to Addison's side of the desk, and hugging her tightly. "That's fantastic news!"

"You don't seem surprised," Addison noted, when Amelia let go of her. "Happy for me, yes. But surprised…not so much."

"It's because I'm not surprised," Amelia admitted. "I'm thrilled for you, but I'm not surprised at all."

"Really?" Addison asked.

Amelia nodded. "I spoke with both you and Jake, yesterday afternoon, and it was painfully obvious that you both wanted to get married to each other. Not to mention, you nearly blinded me with your engagement ring when you walked into my office."

Addison looked down at her ring and smiled.

"Jake has good taste," Amelia complimented, as she took Addison's hand and took a closer look at Addison's engagement ring. "How's your finger handling all that extra weight?" she smirked.

Addison rewarded Amelia's comment with an amused headshake, but quickly grew serious. "There's something I want to ask you," she began, meeting Amelia's eyes. "I know that we've already talked about this hypothetically, but I want to ask you officially. Will you be my maid of honor?"

A wide smile spread across Amelia's face. "Yeah," she nodded. "I'd love to."

"Good," Addison smiled. "Because I couldn't imagine having anyone else."

"You know," Amelia began, taking Addison's hand and looking at her engagement ring again. "I know that you just got engaged and all, but…I don't know…it's hard to remember what your hand looked like without the ring. It just…it looks right."

"Yeah," Addison agreed with a smile. "It feels right too."

xxxxx

"I thought I'd find you in here," Charlotte smirked, as she entered Clara and Alexander's nursery to find Cooper hovering over the twins' cribs, as they slept peacefully.

Cooper met his wife's eyes and smiled. "I can't get enough of them," he admitted. "I mean, I know that they're just sleeping, but they're just…so amazing."

"They are pretty cute," Charlotte agreed, smiling at her sleeping son and daughter. "We did good work." She turned her attention away from the twins, and looked at her husband. "And Mason's adjusting to everything-"

"Amazingly," Cooper filled in with a smile. "He's an incredible kid."

"Of course he is," Charlotte nodded. "He's our son."

Cooper couldn't resist smiling at his wife's words. "You know, I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching them sleep," he chuckled, as he turned his attention back to Clara and Alexander.

Charlotte rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "We've become those people," she sighed. "I told you we would."

"Which people?" Cooper asked, not looking away from their children.

"Those boring people with kids."

"We're not boring," Cooper disagreed.

"Cooper, we're standin' in here watching our children sleep," Charlotte insisted. "We're pretty boring."

Cooper shrugged and met his wife's eyes. "So what if we're boring?" he chuckled. "I wouldn't trade this for anything."

xxxxx

"Hey, do you have a minute?" Amelia asked, as she knocked on the door to Sheldon's office.

"Sure, come on in," Sheldon smiled.

"Thanks," Amelia nodded, as she walked into Sheldon's office, and sat down across from him.

"So, what's up?" Sheldon asked.

"I was wondering," Amelia began. "Do you maybe want to go to Addison and Jake's wedding together?"

"Uh, yeah, sure…yeah, okay," Sheldon stammered. "But you're Addison's maid of honor. I'm sure you're probably going to drive over there with her."

Amelia shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I, uh, I was kind of hoping we could go together, you know, as each others' dates."

"Really?" Sheldon asked.

"If you don't want to, I get it. I totally-"

"No, no, I want to," Sheldon cut in. "I…I'd like that very much."

"Really?" Amelia breathed.

"Yeah," Sheldon nodded.

"Good," Amelia smiled. "Because I'd like that too."

xxxxx

Three months had passed since Addison and Jake had decided to get married, and it was the morning of their wedding. There was still a part of Addison that couldn't believe this was happening – that after all these years of heartbreak and crappy relationships, she was marrying a truly wonderful man. She was marrying a man who didn't play mind games. A man who put her and Henry first. A man who loved her more than anything, and who she loved more than anything.

There was also a part of her that couldn't believe how quickly she and Jake had planned their wedding. Sure, she had put Bizzy and Susan's wedding together in almost no time; but this was her wedding…this was different. But she and Jake agreed that they didn't want to waste time on a long, drawn-out engagement – that they wanted to be husband as wife as soon as possible. So they put their wedding together in three months.

Everything was set. They had found a beautiful place to get married; and since their guest list was limited to family and close friends, it hadn't taken long for them to invite everybody. Addison had even handled the finer details, making her father and brother promise to be on their best behavior at her wedding. And each gave her their word that they wouldn't do anything (or anyone) inappropriate.

Everything was set. From the venue, to her gown, to the flowers, to the menu – everything had been taken care of. Everything was in order. Or so it seemed.

Their wedding day had arrived, but as Addison sat on the countertop in her bathroom, that morning, her upcoming wedding was the last thing on her mind.

"Addison," Amelia called out, as she knocked on the door to the bathroom, ripping Addison from her thoughts. "Addison, you've been in there for a while. And the people are here to do your hair and makeup."

"Addison," Amelia called out again, trying to open the locked bathroom door. "Addison, please open the door."

Addison sighed. In all honesty, she needed another couple of minutes to herself. She needed to process everything that was happening. But she also realized that by locking herself in the bathroom, she was inadvertently acting a little bridezilla-ish; so she opened the bathroom door slightly.

"Hey," Amelia said gently, her eyes softening in concern. "Is everything okay?"

Addison swallowed hard. "Is, uh, is Jake still here?" she asked hopefully.

She and Jake were supposed to be getting ready separately. Neither of them really believed the superstition that it was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding – but they had decided to get ready separately…just in case.

"Um, I think he's still downstairs," Amelia said uncertainly. "I can check for you."

Addison nodded, before closing the bathroom door and locking it again.

"Sweetheart," Jake said, a couple of minutes later, as he knocked on the door to the bathroom. "Is everything okay?"

Addison opened the bathroom door a crack, and pulled Jake inside.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jake asked in concern.

"I, uh," Addison stammered, unable to form words; her mind was reeling, her heart was racing.

"Addison?" Jake prodded gently.

"I…" she trailed off, realizing that, in this situation, there was no chance of her being able to even remotely resemble the eloquent woman that she normally was. "Here," she finally said, handing Jake the little white stick that had been in her hand.

Jake's eyes widened as he looked down at the pregnancy test – the positive pregnancy test – that Addison had just handed him. "Is this-"

"Mine," Addison filled in.

"Oh my God," Jake breathed, a wide smile coming to his face. "You mean-"

"Yeah," Addison nodded. It was all she could get out before Jake wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply.

"I just…I'm in shock," Addison admitted, when they broke apart. I mean, I'm not supposed to be pregnant. I didn't even think it was possible for me. And yet…" she trailed off, gesturing to the positive pregnancy test in Jake's hand. "How does something like this happen?"

Jake gave her a warm smile, as he fought for composure, his heart still soaring from Addison's news. "Do you want me to answer that as a doctor or as your soon-to-be husband?" he asked softly.

Addison looked at him in confusion. "Isn't the answer going to be the same?"

Jake shook his head. "As your doctor, I'd tell you that this type of thing is more common than you'd think. You wouldn't believe how many women spend years trying to get pregnant without any luck. And then once they stop trying…once they relax and stop thinking about it…they miraculously end up getting pregnant…without the drugs or the hormones or any of the other high-tech medical stuff. It just happens. The stats behind it are unbelievable."

Addison nodded. She'd heard that line of reasoning before. She had read those very stats. "And as my soon-to-be-husband…" she trailed off. "How did this happen?"

Jake kissed her softly, and smiled. "As your soon-to-be-husband…I don't know how this happened," he admitted, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm as shocked as you are. But I do know that I'm happy it happened. I'm so, _so_ happy it happened."

xxxxx

The wedding was perfect. The ceremony was small and intimate, and everything that Addison and Jake could have hoped for. And as Addison danced with her husband at their wedding reception, she couldn't help reflecting on how truly happy she was.

She looked around the banquet hall and noticed that she wasn't the only one who was happy. Sheldon and Amelia were dancing together and, from the looks of it, a relationship was blooming. Charlotte and Cooper were sitting at their table, each holding a baby in their arms, and Mason was sitting in between them – they were the perfect little family.

"So, I know it's a little early," Jake began, cutting into Addison's thoughts. "But I already started thinking about names."

Addison smiled at her husband adoringly. They had only just found out that they were pregnant a few hours ago and, already, he was thinking about names.

"Oh, yeah?" Addison smiled. "What names do you have in mind?"

"Well, it's only one name, actually," he admitted. "Vivian."

"Vivian?"

"I've always liked the name," Jake explained. "And when I found out that your mentor's name was Vivian…it just, it seemed even more perfect."

"I like it," Addison smiled. "But how would you feel about using it as a middle name?"

"I'm open to it," Jake grinned. "Make your case for another name."

"Well, I don't have a name in mind, per se," Addison began. "But if we have a daughter, I'd kind of like it if her first name began with an A."

Jake looked at his wife in confusion, trying to follow her line of reasoning.

"All of the most important women in my life have first names that begin with an A," Addison explained, sensing Jake's confusion. "Amelia and Angela…and I want our daughter to be a part of that."

"Amelia, Angela, Addison," Jake smiled. "I want our daughter to be a part of that too."

"You know, we might have another son," Addison pointed out, looking over at Henry, who seemed perfectly content in Angela's arms.

"Maybe," Jake nodded, looking over at Henry, and smiling widely. "But I don't think so," he smirked.

"You know, this new baby and Henry are going to be really close in age," Addison reflected.

"Like you and Archer," Jake smiled. "They can even go to med school together like you and Archer did."

"Yeah," Addison laughed. "I guess they can. But, uh, I don't want to think about that right now. That's way, _way _down the line. Right now, it's about you and me, enjoying our wedding day."

"I can get behind that," Jake smiled, pulling his wife closer, as they continued to sway to the music together. "I love you, Addison."

"I love you too, Jake," Addison smiled, kissing her husband softly. "You're the love of my life."

And as Addison continued to dance with her husband, she couldn't help but reflect on the past year. It had been filled with loss and romance, family and love. She, Jake, Henry, Charlotte, Cooper, Amelia, and Sheldon had made a lot of memories over the past year. And as she held Jake close, she couldn't help smiling because she knew that there would be many more memories to come.

_And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you;  
__And I'll earn your trust making memories of us.  
_

_xxxxx_


End file.
